A love in time
by Marrei
Summary: Naruto, for as long as she could remember, has always dreamed about a boy with white hair. They were dreams but it always felt so real to her and so did the friendship they shared. Utterly confused, Naruto swore it was just a dream until the impossible kept happening. Mature themes in future chapters. TobiramaXFemNaruto
1. Chapter 1

**A love in time 1**

**Summary:** Naruto, for as long as she could remember, has always dreamed about a boy with white hair. They were dreams but it always felt so real to her and so did the friendship they shared. Utterly confused, Naruto swore it was just a dream until the impossible kept happening.

**XXXX**

Tobirama sighed. Hashirama had gotten into another fight with their father and it left a sour taste in his mouth. Currently, he was wandering through the forest in unclaimed land. It wasn't a good idea for him to going out in the evening but he was confident in his skills at his young age, just shy of his eighth winter. Taking a deep breath, he took in the scent of his damp surroundings and the ever-present smell of pine. Tobirama ventured further into the forest, stretching his senses out and felt nobody nearby yet his gut churned when he could hear sobbing. They were soft but he could definitely hear somebody crying...a child? Tobirama frowned, he couldn't feel anybody and followed the sound silently, "A new technique?" He muttered as pulled out his sword. Taking caution to stick the shadows, Tobirama followed the crying till it got louder and came across a small river. His eyes easily picked up the golden head that contrasted against the grey of the stones. He approached slowly, seeing the child folded in on itself as the crying was muffled in their small arms. Quickly analysing the child, Tobirama ruled out they didn't belong to the Yamanaka clan. Their hair was a different shade of blonde, more golden than anything else. He couldn't even sense their chakra and quickly came up with two conclusions, one more believable than the other. Believable: it was an undocumented kekkei genkai or unbelievable: a ghost. Tobirama wanted to snort at his conclusion but he didn't want to give away his position when he was so close. Either way, this child could still be an enemy. A trap.

Tobirama was curious. If the child was trained, they would've noticed him by now. He hadn't completed his stealth training but he was far along in it. He held his sword towards the child and cleared his throat, "Who are you?" He said sternly, clearly startling the child. The child also startled him as Tobirama's eyes widened at seeing the clearest blues eyes he had ever seen. They stared at him with fear as their cheeks were puffy and red, he guessed the child was no older than five, at the most. "You're a girl." He deadpanned, taking in her soft features and her long golden hair that was hidden in her lap. He cringed when she sniffed, taking the flowing slime into her nose.

"M-make it fast, please…"

Tobirama was confused when she seemed more than prepared to take his attack, despite the fear in her eyes. "Excuse me?" he saw her blink rapidly as she wiped her eyes.

"You're h-here to kill me, r-right?" She said slowly, "I don't k-know where Ji-chama is o-or the nice Weasel nii-chama. You're f-finally going to kill me, right?"

Tobirama gripped his katana tighter. Seeing the hopeless look in her eyes made his gut drop. Normally this wouldn't affect him but his brother's words about sending children off to die, struck a chord within him. "It is -chan, not chama." He corrected, putting away his sword with a sigh. He knew what he was doing was not right but also cutting down a child didn't sit well with him. He saw her cheeks flush a further red, "Who are you? What are you doing here?" He quickly fired off, "Who's going to kill you?" He added, curious as to why she was being hunted. She definitely didn't look or act like an Uchiha and last he checked, there were no Senju that matched her description. They were the two prominent clans that each side hunted down.

The blonde shied away, "Ji-chama said I shouldn't talk to strangers. Said they hurt little girls."

"It's -chan," Tobirama corrected again and folded his arms, staring down at the uncomfortable girl.

The blonde ignored him, "You're not here to kill me then?" She asked curiously and saw the white-haired boy just staring at her. She took that as his answer. "Then, I guess it should be okay. I'll let Ji-chama know when he finds me. I'm Naruto–"

Tobirama held up his hand, cutting her off. He knew this was a stupid idea but he said, "Don't tell me your last name. It's safer this way." Her confusion left him curious by her reaction.

"O-okay then. Ano, I wanted to go to the festival but Ji-chama said no but I snuck away and then I was being chased by really mean people. I t-think they cut me here," She gestured to her back but winced, "It really h-hurts. I hope Ji-chama and Inu-chama find me. I'm hungry." She sniffed.

Tobirama frowned, moving behind the blonde and gasped. There was a huge gash on her back and looked quite deep. "What the hell." He hissed and went to touch her back but found that his hand went through her body and paled, "Ghost."

"G-g-g-ghost!" Naruto screamed before crying out in pain due to her back. "W-where? Don't let them eat me." She trembled with wide watery eyes.

"You! You're the ghost." Tobirama pointed out, showing the blonde by touching her and let his hand fall through her body. She wasn't transparent yet he couldn't touch her either.

"I'm not a ghost." Naruto protested as she struggled to stand. She was shaky on her feet and touched her back. Seeing the blood on her hands, she winced, "Ghosts don't bleed. Who are you anyway, hedgehog?" She accused, "Maybe you're the ghost since you can't touch me."

"Hedgehog?" Tobirama narrowed his eyes, "I'm Tobi," He said since his name was widely known in the area. He was curious when she dismissed him and tried to check her wound. Frankly, Tobirama was sure that ghosts didn't bleed and the girl was getting more pale by the second. "You should sit down and stop moving or you'll bleed out and become a real ghost." He said, making her panic and follow through with his words. He knelt beside her and tried touching her again. Failing to touch her shoulder but he could feel her chakra when his hand passed through. It was warm. He wasn't exactly sure what was happening. Dead people didn't have chakra.

"Am I going to die, Tobi-chama?" Naruto asked nervously, feeling her body getting colder.

"It's -chan." He corrected for the third time, "Also–"

"Tobi! There you are!" Hashirama burst into the area and landed in the spot Naruto was sitting at. Not being able to see or hear her when she screamed in fright.

Tobirama's eyes widened when he saw Naruto clutch her chest in shock. The warmth of her chakra gone from his hand. When he opened his mouth he saw a relief overcome on her face as her body started to fade.

"Ji-chama, you found me," Naruto said softly, disappearing from the riverbank.

"Tobi!" Hashirama waved a hand in Tobirama's face. "Is everything okay?"

Tobirama shook out of his stupor, "Yes, Anii-chan. Has father calmed down?" He stood, decided to hold back the experience he just had.

**XXXX**

Hiruzen looked over the young girl in the hospital bed, connected to lines and oxygen. Fury burned deep within him as he touched her hand gently, "Find them. Hunt them down. I want every last one of them. Send them to Ibiki. I want them broken. Inu, Weasel, Neko, Kinoe, hunt them as freely as you'd like. You have my permission." he ordered quietly, yet the weight of his demand was enough to fill the room as the ANBU disappeared. He squeezed Naruto's hand gently and whispered with tears glistening in his eyes, "I'm so sorry Naruto." He gasped lightly when her eyes fluttered opened and found their way to his. "Get some sleep, Naruto." He urged gently but she shook her head.

"S-sorry," She whispered.

Hiruzen saw her fall back asleep with a tear escaping his eye, "No, I'm the one who's sorry." He swore he would never let this happen to her ever again. The village had gone too far this time and he had enough. From now on, Hiruzen promised to train Naruto and if anyone on his council had a problem then they would have to take it up with him – he would reject any negativity and make sure his little blonde knew how to protect herself.

_The next day:_

Hiruzen wasn't surprised to see Naruto already sitting up in bed looking unharmed. If it wasn't for the bandages that peaked around her neck then he would've believed nothing happened to her but something had. "Naru-chan," He called out and caught her infectious grin, "How are you, dear?" He asked as he sat down next to her.

"A little sore but I'm okay," She nodded and grabbed his hand excitedly, "Ne ne ne, Ji-chama, I had the weirdest dream. Wanna hear it?"

Hiruzen chuckled and nodded his head, "Of course." He helped her to sit comfortably, feeling his heartache every time she tried to hide that she was in pain. "So, what happened?"

Naruto's eyes light up, "I met this really weird boy, Ji-chama! He was like Weasel-niichama but had like really white hair – like a hedgehog!" She exclaimed, "He kept saying I was a ghost but I'm pretty sure that he was the ghost. He had red eyes like Weasel-niichama but not as freaky and these weird red marks on his face like Kiba-baka. He was kinda mean but he stayed with me till you found me and he was gone."

Hiruzen felt his memory itch at him, "Did this boy tell you his name?"

"Un!" She nodded her head, "Tobi-chama! He's really weird but I know he's nice. He helped me."

"Tobi?" He asked with her nodding in confirmation. "I see, well it's good that he took care of you but if you see him again, make sure not to ask too many questions. Some people get upset when you ask too many questions."

"Sure, Ji-chama, I can do that."

"Good good," Hiruzen patted her head gently, "But there's something I wanted to discuss with you, Naru-chan." He said seriously as she sat straighter, "It's about your training. I'm giving you a tutor. After what happened last night, I want for you to be able to protect yourself and keep yourself safe."

Naruto scrunched up her nose, "I don't need a tutor."

Hiruzen saw the distrust in her eyes, "He's an excellent shinobi, Naru-chan, and I personally chose him to teach you. Just give it a try or do you want your Oji-chan to cry and have a heart attack the next time you get hurt?" He made sure to clutch at his heart as he put on fake tears. Making Naruto wail about not wanting to hurt him and agreeing easily enough.

"I'll do it, Ji-chama! Don't die~" Naruto sobbed as she flung herself into the Hokage. A trail of snot hanging from her nose as she looked up at him pleadingly. "I'll do it!"

"Ah I suddenly feel better," Hiruzen laughed when she threw her pillow at him. He didn't bother to dodge and let it smack his face. "Come, let's get you discharged and meeting your tutor. I believe the two of you will get along." He grabbed her clothes from the bedside table and shuffled her into the bathroom. Taking a deep breath, Hiruzen recalled a distant memory as he heard Naruto humming in the shower.

"_Aww come on, sensei. You're the most sought after man in all of the Fire Country," Hiruzen spoke lightly towards the Nidaime Hokage as they walked through the bustling streets of Konoha. "There's plenty of women around and you'd have to be blind to not see them wanting you." Hiruzen huffed at being ignored as the man stared straight ahead. "Sensei, is there a woman I don't know about? Are you secretly married and have children somewhere?"_

_Tobirama paused, looking down at his curious student. He gave a short chuckle and ruffled his hair, "Don't worry so much, Saru. I'm not interested in settling down and having children. Anii-chan has already done that and I've got my hands filled with you."_

_Hiruzen sighed, "You'd tell me if there was someone, right? As your student, it's my duty to protect your family, too." He saw the soft look in his sensei's eyes and swallowed, "Oh heavens, it's an enemy, isn't it?"_

_Tobirama scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous." He sighed before placing a hand on Saru's shoulder. Saying seriously, "Let it go, Saru. The woman I want is someone I can't have."_

"_B-but surely if you two love each other enough you can be together!" He protested, chasing after his departing sensei._

"_If only that were the case," Tobirama replied, heading into his office and towards his bookshelf. His hand easily found a worn down book and pulled it out. "Hiruzen, have you ever connected with somebody that you couldn't touch?"_

_Hiruzen was going to give a witty remark, however, refraining when he saw the sadness in his sensei's eyes and the way he addressed him, "I can't say I have." He stepped forward when Tobirama handed him the book, opened on a specific page. Grabbing the book gently, Hiruzen looked over the sketch that was spread over two pages. He turned the book portrait and held in a gasp as he eyed a young beauty. She looked to be in her teenage years and her smile was alluring. "Who is she, sensei?" He wondered what the colour of her hair was, especially her eyes. His sensei had drawn her amazingly that he thought the girl would jump out of the book._

_Tobirama took back the book and slid it back into place. "A silly ghost."_

The Sandaime Hokage snapped open his eyes with a slight frown. He remembered they never spoke about about his sensei's love life ever again nor did he ever pick up his sensei's diary. "What is fate playing at?" He mumbled to himself just as the door to the bathroom opened. He gazed over to Naruto, seeing her in a plain green t-shirt and black pants. "Here, let me dry your hair and then we can get going," He gestured her over and sat her in his lap. "Can you tell me more about Tobi? What did he look like?"

"But I've told you, Ji-chama," Naruto replied.

"Humour me,"

Naruto shrugged as the towel-covered her hair, "Hmm well he was a kid but he was holding a sword." She shuddered at the memory of his cold eyes, "It was scary but I know he's a good person cause he helped me. His hair kinda looks like a hedgehog and it's white. I thought he was an old man at first until I really saw him," she giggled to herself as Hiruzen ran his fingers through her hair. "He had these really pretty red eyes. Not like those Uchiha snobs, they were better." She turned in his lap and touched Hiruzen's cheeks and chin, "And had red marks here."

Hiruzen nodded, gesturing for her to turn around so he could do her hair, "And what was he wearing?"

Naruto tapped her chin in thought, "Dunno, but it looked really weird. I think he likes the colour blue."

"What makes you say that?" He asked carefully, tying her hair into two pigtails.

"He was wearing a lot of blue." Naruto leapt off the bed and pointed to her forehead, "And he was wearing a weird helmet or was it a headband?" She asked herself more than anything before shaking her head, "Well, it was weird."

Hiruzen chuckled and held his hand out for her to hold, "He must've been a weird child." Leading them both towards his office. The Sandaime knew that he would have to research into what was happening and why it was happening. He didn't feel comfortable going through his predecessor's personal diaries but this was an abnormality that could affect Naruto in either a good or bad way. From what he knew, his sensei never married or had any children and rebuffed all attempts from the council to have an heir. He glanced down at the bubbly child, "_Naruto couldn't possibly be the reason why. I must see that picture again to confirm my suspicions. Perhaps sensei had a few theories and if that woman I saw is truly indeed Naruto when she's older, then I must find a reason for it. It may be more than just a dream."_

Naruto nodded vigorously, "Right! Right! I thought he was gonna whack my head off but turns out he can't touch me so he's the ghost!"

Hiruzen listened as she ranted. Filing away anything he deemed important. Once she got into her fear of ghosts, he stopped his filing and just listened to her talk. There was a childish fear in her voice and Hiruzen had to guess that ghosts would be her ultimate fear from how she paled considerably talking about them. Entering his office, he grinned when he spotted her tutor waiting for them, "Ahh Itachi-kun, thank you so much for waiting. Naru-chan, I want you to met Itachi-kun. He will be your tutor until further notice." He saw Naruto sigh in relief.

"Thank heavens it's not an old creep," She muttered to herself, not knowing the others could hear her clearly. Naruto let go of Hiruzen and bound up the young ninja and pointed to herself, "Pleased to meet you. I'm Naruto Uzumaki and future Hokage, dattebayo!"

Itachi felt his lip twitch, "Hello, Naruto. My name is Itachi Uc–" He saw the Hokage make a slicing gesture by his neck, "–and I'm a chunin. I'll be your tutor. You may call me Itachi-sensei."

"Itachi-sensei," Naruto tried to name on her lips and grinned, "It suits you," she laughed lightly and tugged on his hand, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go kick some butt!" Excited to start training, Naruto started dragging Itachi out of the office.

Hiruzen tilted his head as Itachi looked back at him pleadingly for help. He just grinned and shooed him off as they disappeared down the hall. Closing his office door, Hiruzen became serious and stalked his way over to the bookshelf. His eyes scanned the shelf before they picked up on the old leather-bound diary and pulled it out. Taking a deep sigh, he opened the diary and flicked through the pages until he found the page he needed and felt his fingers tremble. "How did I not notice this sooner?" He muttered, his eyes scanned over the young woman he gazed upon decades ago. There was no doubt about it. This young woman was Naruto Uzumaki. Baring the same whisker birthmarks to the wide grin and bright-looking eyes. This was his little Uzumaki as a young teen.

Feeling restless, Hiruzen sat down at his desk. "Better to start at the beginning." Flicking the page to the beginning and started to read.

_I was restless from all the paperwork. Perhaps it was silly to take a walk so late at night without an escort. Perhaps it was for the best. I met her again. She had grown more beautiful. I had asked her age and she got mad at me. I hadn't seen her in for a while and that was the first thing I sought to ask her. Of course, she would be mad but she told me. Naruto was now eighteen and looked more radiant than ever. Perhaps it was the best I didn't have the guards follow me. Talking to air would have them suspicious and call for my head._

_She was speaking, telling me about her journey around the world and her missions. As always, she embellished her tales but it was intriguing. I've never had the chance to explore leisurely, so hearing her talk about the world was refreshing - although I have heard it time and time again from her...it never got old. I'm still not entirely sure who this 'Ero-sennin' is, but from my guess he is her Master. She asks me what I've been up to and she laughs when I reply with paperwork. Naruto doesn't move away when I go to touch her. We both see my hand pass through her but I can feel her chakra flowing through me. It's as warm as ever and I feel calm. I ask her how she's feeling. Her small smile is as bitter as my own._

_She asks me to stay and I do. We talk till the sun rises. Talk about our lives and anything that comes to mind. I see her body start to fade and she looks sad, apologising for keeping me up all night. I tell her that I was fine, as long as she had a good rest. I can tell that she wants to say more but her body fades before she gathers the courage. Before I know it, she has woken up and I am all alone in the forest. Although, I've been up all night I feel energised and make my way back to the village. It was good to see her again. She was still around. That was good. Perhaps I will see her tonight._

Hiruzen let out a shuddering breath after reading the first entry. It felt wrong invading on his sensei's private thoughts but even Hiruzen could feel the longing in the writing. "There has to be more." He placed the diary down and scanned the bookshelf for other similar diaries. "If they're not here, then they must be in the Senju estate." Tucking the book into his robes, Hiruzen made his way to the estate and decided to get to the bottom of what was happening or at least, get enough information to prevent Naruto from getting hurt or blurting something out to the young Tobirama Senju.

**XXXX**

Naruto looked around with worry. She didn't recognise this part of Konoha and she swore she went to bed. The last thing she wanted was to get told off by Ji-chama after her kindly gave her a tutor. Naruto actually liked him, he was quiet but he taught her better than any of the Academy teachers. She even let Itachi know. "Maybe if I go this way," She pointed in a random direction, gulping when it appeared to be the darkest part of the forest. "Stop being a chicken, Naruto," She scolded herself and took a hesitant step forward.

"What are you doing?"

"AAHHH!" Naruto screamed, leaping up into the air before falling on her ass. Her heart was jumping in her chest as she spied the unamused boy from the night before, "You!" Naruto pointed at him heatedly, "Don't scare me like that!" She wiped the tears from her eyes before he could see them but she was truly frightened.

"I've been standing here for five minutes. You're the one who didn't notice me." Tobirama folded his arms, ignoring the tears in her eyes. "What are you doing?" He asked again.

Naruto stood up and dusted her clothes, "I'm trying to get home. I don't want Ji-chama getting upset again but I don't know where I am."

"It's -chan," He corrected once more and leapt down from the rock he was sitting on. "If you went that way you would've ran into a family of bears and they would've clawed you to death. Ah, but you're already dead since you're a ghost."

"I'm not a ghost." Naruto growled, "Ghosts don't bleed."

Tobirama didn't look convinced as he approached her, "Well you don't look injured."

"I was yesterday," Naruto explained and pulled up a part of her shirt to show her back. There was just a nasty red mark that was still healing, "Ji-chama said it'll be fully healed in another day but I still have to be careful."

"Nobody can heal a deep wound in just a day." Tobirama scoffed, not believing her words.

Naruto pouted, "But I've always healed fast. Ji-chama says it's a special gift that only I have."

"A kekkei genkai?"

"Huh? A what?"

"Are you an idiot? A bloodline." Tobirama explained, "Some clans have a bloodline that makes them stand out from other clans."

Naruto looked away sadly, "I wouldn't know. I don't have parents. Ji-chama said they died the day I was born protecting the village from a monster."

Tobirama felt out of place and murmured, "I apologise. I did not mean to be crude."

"You didn't know," Naruto shrugged her shoulders before her curiosity got the better of her, "What is that?" She pointed to his forehead.

Tobirama arched a brow, knowing what she was talking about, "It's called a happuri. I find it much more effective to wear."

Naruto hummed, "And what's that?"

"Shinobi armour," Tobirama replied, curious on how this girl didn't know the simple shinobi attire. "Are you not a shinobi yourself? These are simple garments that all shinobi wear."

Naruto scrunched up her nose, "The shinobi I know don't wear those things."

Tobirama filed that away, sitting down by the river they had first met at, "What are you wearing? I have not seen such clothing before."

Naruto looked down at her clothes, "It's a sleep shirt." She pointed to the toad on the front and said, "Ji-chama gave it to me for my birthday. Ahh that's right, I went to sleep and woke up here. Such a strange thing." Naruto laughed and stretched her arms before laying back and looking up to the stars. "Oh well, no need to think too hard. Itachi-sensei says my instincts are a lot better than my thinking."

"I believe your sensei was insulting you." Tobirama picked up a stone and threw it in the river. He glanced over at her and saw how carefree she was, "What does your instincts tell you about now?"

"That even though you look mean that you're a nice person," Naruto tapped her nose knowingly, "Ne, Tobi-chama, that boy that was here before, he was your brother right?"

Tobirama nodded slowly.

"What's it like?" She asked curiously, "Ah, you don't have to answer if you want."

He assumed she was talking about family and shrugged his shoulders, "They're a handful. Sometimes there's fights but at the end of the day, no matter what is said, we have each other's backs."

"That must be nice," Naruto said wistfully.

"Naruto," He laid down next to her and watched the stars, "Perhaps this is too forward but you were prepared to die by my hand when we first met. May I ask, what happened to you?"

"It was my birthday the day of the festival," She started after a few minutes of silence, "The festival celebrates the defeat of the monster. A lot of the villagers think that I'm the monster and they get mad at me. Ji-chama says that I'm not and I believe him." Naruto touched her cheek, feeling the wiry whiskers beneath her touch, "I didn't listen and then I was being attacked by the villagers. One of the shinobi got me in the back and I went to hide in the forest. That's when I met you."

Tobirama was stunned. Angry. "How is that possible?" He sat up and stared heatedly at the confused girl as she sat up too. "The people in your village take it out on you just because you were born on that day. How unsightly. How can a group of adults be so stupid to believe a child is a monster?! You should leave." He stated firmly, "My clan can take you in and–" He reached out to touch her but his hand fell through her body. He felt his mind hiccup.

Naruto offered a smile and hovered her hand over his, "Thanks, Tobi-chama, but I still love my village."

"Why?" He bit out. Wondering what stupid idea was binding her to her evil village.

"Because I have my Ji-chama there and all my nii-chama and nee-chama that looks after me. We may not be related like your family but I care about them and if I leave, I know that they'll be sad. As long as I have them I believe that I can be strong and just you watch, one of these days I'll win them over and be the leader of the village."

Tobirama was stunned by her resilience. She was younger than him, from what he gathered, yet she already had a strong will. "You're an idiot,"

Naruto's face dropped, "Ehh why? I thought what I said was cool and it was the truth!"

"It was more idiotic than cool," Tobirama stood, "Follow me." He said and walked off. He still found it odd talking to a ghost, though she claimed otherwise, but it was refreshing talking to Naruto. They didn't talk about war or missions. It was different. He looked back to see her following him with a pout on her face and smirked. He led her through the forest till they entered a hidden cave and out into a small flower field that was illuminated by the moon. He heard Naruto gasp as he walked over to the lake. The only way for somebody to find this place was through the secret entrance or by climbing up the mountain. Otherwise, this was his hidden place.

"Waah this is amazing, Tobi-chama," Naruto whispered and walked through Tobi, not caring that he shivered or barked at her not to do that. It was like she stepped into a fairy tale wonderland. "How did you find this place?" She asked, turning to face him as he had his arms folded.

"I was being hunted by an enemy clan." He said plainly and saw her wince, "I stayed here for five days to heal and come here often to train. Have you started your training?" He asked since his clan started shinobi training as soon as they could walk.

Naruto nodded, "Well the basics since I'm not allowed to do anything heavy. Itachi-sensei says I need to learn chakra control early since I've got too much. He said I can start learning tree climbing tomorrow, whatever that means."

"It when you apply chakra to your feet and start climbing," He demonstrated and saw the awe in her eyes. "You have to start running in the beginning but once you master tree climbing then you will be able to stick to any surface with ease." He walked back down with her clapping at his display.

"You must be really strong then, Tobi-chama,"

"It's -chan," He pointed out again, "And that is nothing, just the basics."

"Tobi-chama," Naruto said cheekily and saw his brow twitch.

"-chan."

"-chama."

"-chan," Tobirama froze and saw Naruto stiffen as they both conveyed to each other to be silent. He could sense a team nearby.

Naruto moved closer to Tobirama and whispered, "Ano, they feel bad, Tobi-chama."

"It's -chan," He hissed as he strained to hear what was going on outside. He could sense a group of at least 6 enemies.

Naruto frowned, "They're angry," She muttered, "One of them is embarrassed."

Tobirama raised a brow, gesturing for her to explain. If his brother couldn't see or hear her then he theorised that the enemies couldn't either.

"Itachi-sensei says is a unique sensory ability. I can sense negative emotions."

Tobirama whispered, "Go out there and see what they're planning."

"Ehhh," Naruto hissed, "I'll get killed for real."

"No, you won't. So far, I'm the only one who's been able to see and hear you. You'll be fine."

"B-but,"

"I'll take full responsibility if anything happens to you," He swore.

Naruto sighed, "Fine but if I die out there imma haunt you forever." She promised harm before retracing her steps outside of the cave. She felt her heartbeat fast as she approached the group and found that they hadn't seen her yet. Even with her heavy nervous breathing. Naruto got closer and listened to their conversation. She frowned as they talked about a mission and got closer, seeing as they didn't take notice of her. She bravely stepped in the middle of their conversation and got a good look at their faces. They looked vaguely familiar but couldn't pinpoint it as she listened to their plan. The leader, the angriest member, spilt out each detail of their plan and when they moved away she headed back into the cave. She saw Tobirama rush to her side immediately.

"What happened?"

"Besides them not seeing me like you said," Naruto started, "They're planning an attack on a caravan. Saying something like: those fucking tree huggers won't last a week once we steal their fucking rations."

Tobirama held up a hand, "Don't use such crude language, Naruto. It's unbefitting of a child."

"You're a child too," Naruto huffed, "Anyways, they said they're gonna attack during handover."

"Did you get a look at them?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, dark hair and dark eyes. They wore dark clothes too. Are they some cult or something, it was very creepy." She shivered as she remembered their maniacal laughs.

Tobirama frowned, it was bad news. If what Naruto said was true then the Uchiha clan were planning to attack their next shipment. He had to let his father know as soon as possible. "I have to warn my clan," He said urgently, pausing when he saw her crestfallen face, "What is it?"

Naruto shook her head, "It's nothing. Go and protect your family, Tobi-chama. Ah, I probably won't be here when you come back so don't worry about coming back."

Tobirama nodded and went to leave.

"Ne, Tobi-chama," Naruto called out, making him pause, "Be careful out there. Their chakra was dangerous."

He looked over his shoulder. She looked like someone had punched her and he wasn't sure what to say to her. All he knew was that his clan needed this information. He gave her a nod before rushing back to his clan.

Naruto sighed, looking down at her hand and saw that she was starting to fade away. "I should let Ji-chama know it happened again."

Naruto blinked and found herself back in her room. Groaning, Naruto rolled over and cuddled into her pillow. She could feel the sun on her legs and forced herself out of bed. "Gotta go to Ji-chama," She muttered and tiredly showered, changed, ate a quick meal before taking to the rooftops to the Hokage's office. "Ji-chama~" She called out as she leapt through the window. Not seeing him shuffle to hide the diary he was reading, "It happened again. I met with Tobi-chama~" She yawned as she entered his office and plopped herself down on the couch.

Hiruzen cleared his throat, surprised that it was morning already. He had stayed up all night reading his sensei's journals. "Well, what did you two get up to?" He listened carefully as she tiredly told him her tale.

**XXXX**

**Authors note: **Hey everybody!

Okay, I know this dumb bitch is terrible at updating but I wanted to hear your opinions. I have a google doc filled with fanfiction writing and wanted to know if you wanted me to post every chapter I have (even though they're unfinished). There's a range of stories ranging from modern AU to time travel. I even have a couple of TobiramaXFemNaruto pairings in this folder. Tbh some even have the same premise/theme but I've written differently. Please let me know if you'd like for this to happen by either DMing me or by taking the poll.

Thank you so much for reading my childish fantasies and indulging my guilty pleasure.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter** 2

"Yatta! I did it, Itachi-sensei!" Naruto tackled Itachi to the ground in a soggy heap.

Itachi didn't bother to dodge. He learnt the hard way when he first avoided one of her hugs and accepted being covered in lake water. He looked up at her grinning face and patted her soaking hair, "You did well, Naruto. You picked up water walking rather fast."

"Yeah, well having fireballs being sent my way sure is motivation," She laughed cheerfully and got up. Giving Itachi a hand and gratefully took the towel he handed her. "What's next, Itachi-sensei?"

"You can continue running around the lake until I say stop. Build up your chakra control and keep this–" He stuck a leaf to her forehead, "On there. Go on," He urged and chuckled when she grumbled at him but did as she was told. It had been a month since he started training her and she was a fast learner. She picked certain things up faster than others and was a hard worker. He had to force her to stop at times but Itachi found the blonde girl a wonderful student. Once a week he made a report to the Hokage and let the Hokage know that he had to teach Naruto how to read and write. Understandably, the Hokage was furious but thankful for Itachi for taking up the mantle. Itachi didn't mind at all. He was having fun with Naruto and she knew how to cheer him up whenever she felt he was upset. Itachi did find her sensory ability hard to get around but appreciated her help nonetheless. From what he knew, he was the only one the Hokage had told about Naruto's dreams and to ask her about them when she woke up from a hard day's training. Sometimes she met the Nidaime Hokage and sometimes she didn't. The Hokage had explained to him not to let her know of the man's true identity until the Hokage figured out what was going on. For now, it was just a boy Naruto dreamed about.

Hearing a caw, Itachi looked up and saw a messenger bird and sighed. "Naruto!" He called out, gesturing for her to come back. "I have to go out on a mission," He chuckled when she pouted, "Continue the training I've given you and when I get back we'll do a review, okay."

"But Itachi-sensei~" She whined, "We're just getting to the good bits."

"All forms of training are good bits," He redirected, lifting his hand and before he knew it, he poked her forehead. He was stunned by his action but kept it hidden as she giggled and rubbed her forehead. "Be good and don't give your teacher a hard time,"

"What if they're mean to me? Can I prank them?"

Itachi hummed, "If you get caught then there will be a punishment involved," Not seeing any harm with her pranks, he approved. She made some elaborate traps when she puts her mind to it. "If you don't then I will teach you about making real traps."

"Yatta!" Naruto cheered, "I'll do it, dattebayo!"

Itachi nodded, "I have to go now but this training ground will always be free for you to use. Take the time to work on your shuriken and kunai jutsu. Also, don't wear yourself out. You have to keep healthy and eat the vegetables I got you." He saw her cringe and pulled at her cheek playfully, "Eat your veggies, Uzumaki."

"Ow ow ow I will~" Naruto swore and rubbed her stinging cheek. "Just you watch, Itachi-sensei, I'll ace my prank _and_ I'll master everything you've taught me."

"Those are big words, Naruto," Itachi warned, patting her head before he disappeared in a flock of crows.

Naruto huffed as Itachi left and returned to running around on the lake. She let her mind wander, recalling her Gramps words to be careful when talking with her friend from her dreams. The big one was to not talk too much about the village or bring up any last names. Naruto found it odd but she believed and trusted him. She hadn't seen Tobi in her dreams for the past couple of days but she hoped that her dream friend was okay. Even though he wasn't real, he was still her friend; even when he was being mean to her.

Too focused on her mind, Naruto didn't see the person in front of her till the last second and screamed, passing through the person and fell into the lake. Naruto shuddered at the encompassing cold feeling and pushed herself to the surface and coughed out the water that she swallowed. "Y-you bastard…" She coughed more before glaring at the person standing on the lake before her. "What the hell are you doing here, Tobi-chama?" She hissed as she pulled herself out of the lake and stood upon it. Still glaring at the boy.

Tobirama folded his arms as he looked around the training grounds. It looked like a nice place to train, "How am I supposed to know? I went to bed and woke up here. What is this place?"

Naruto was thoroughly confused, "A-ah we're inside my village. This is one of the private training grounds." Naruto looked down at his odd attire, she had only seen the rich folk wear such clothes but it wasn't as pretty and decorated. "What the heck are you wearing?"

Tobirama looked down at his sleepwear, "This is a yukata. I wear this to bed. What are you wearing?" He looked at her bright orange attired as his lips formed a hard line.

"Clothes," She deadpanned, "Maybe I'm going crazy. Usually, I see you when I fall asleep. Not the other way around."

"You are crazy for wearing such unsightly clothing," He commented, not flinching when she punched him, only for her hand to phase through him. He got used to her outburst quite easily. "Your village seems rather...peaceful." Although he couldn't seem much, a village's training grounds spoke a million words.

"Yeah I guess so," Naruto left the lake and grabbed the towel to dry off. "Ah! What have you been doing lately, Tobi-chama? I haven't seen you in a few days."

"Days?" Tobirama frowned, "Naruto, I haven't seen you in a year."

"Ehhh!" She hollered, dropped her towel in shock, "No way! It's only been four days for me. Damn it, that makes you another year older."

"I've always been older than you," He commented, stepping onto the land and took in her appearance. It was true, he hadn't seen her in a year yet she hadn't aged a day. A few days for her had turned into a year for him. No matter what theories he came up with, none of them made sense.

Naruto scowled, "Fair point, dattebayo." She took a sip from her canteen. "So," She glanced over to him and saw the slight difference. He had gotten taller and seemed more serious, "What happened?"

Tobirama sat down, dipping his legs into the water. Surprised to be able to feel the coolness of the lake on his skin. "Missions. Fighting. Arguments. The fighting has definitely gotten worse."

Naruto joined Tobi, "Did you always want to be a shinobi?"

"I was born into it. There was no choice given, it was expected." He said almost bitterly. "Being a civilian isn't any safer. There is always danger unless the fighting stops. We look past the anger and hate and set down some rules to live harmoniously. A world where children aren't sent out to their deaths and aren't honoured when they are struck down for being a true shinobi."

Naruto hummed, "I don't know some of the words you're using but I think I understand. It must be hard for you since you come from a big family. I know what it's like to move past the hate but sometimes," Naruto took a deep breath, "Sometimes it doesn't work like that. Sometimes your emotions get in the way you end up adding to that cycle. It's not an easy thing."

Tobirama looked to Naruto in a new light. Always believing her to be a naive idiot. "You're rather insightful for a child."

"You're a child too!" She bristled, "Besides, I've been watching people for a long time. When nobody wants anything to do with you, watching is all I can do." She saw the hard look in Tobi's eyes and waved her hands, "It's not bad. Itachi-sensei says that my observations skills are really good. It helps when I act like an idiot cause then they're not suspicious of me."

"You are an idiot," Tobirama pointed out as the metal canteen phased through his head. "However, at times you can be not an idiot."

Naruto gave a cheeky smile, "Thanks for the compliment, Tobi-chama."

"It's -chan," He pointed out, feeling them fall in the familiar pattern. Despite the year that passed for him, it felt like they had never been apart. "And don't expect any more. Don't want your head getting bigger than it already is."

"My head is not big, Hedgehog." She hissed, about to chew him out when she heard her name being called. Her eyes lit up as she saw the Hokage enter the training grounds, "Ji-chama!" She called out happily, "Where's your hat, Ji-chama?" She asked, skipping over to him and tackled him into a tight hug. She loved giving hugs.

Hiruzen chuckled, hugging Naruto back. "It's too beautiful of a day to be covering my head, Naru-chan. I came to check on you. Make sure you're not training yourself into the ground."

Naruto groaned, "That was one time, Ji-chama, I'm being responsible now." She placed her hands on her hips and gave him a stern look.

"Should this old man be smoking?" Tobirama appeared by Naruto. Surprised that she didn't react to him as he believed she would. However, he narrowed his eyes when the old man looked at his blonde friend expectantly.

"Naru-chan, how about we get some ramen?" Hiruzen asked, already knowing what was going on here before he arrived. "Itachi-kun told me some good news about your chakra control."

"Ramen!" Naruto said cheerfully.

_A full year had passed before I saw her again. I went to sleep and woke up watching her train. The idiot didn't notice me at first until I walked in front of her and she had the nerve to mouth off at me. I understood why. Naruto believed a few days had passed, whereas, I spent the past year wondering what had happened. She appeared fine from the last time I saw her. Still hot headed but I learnt something new about her. She was very observant. I had a feeling she knew that something was making me restless but she didn't pry. I doubt she would. She had a habit of hesitating whenever we met._

_For the past year, whenever I had spare time, I would look into how our situation worked. So far, I've come across nothing. Just mindless theories. However, due to meeting her again, I can confirm that she is not a ghost. I met the man she affectionately calls 'Ji-chama', no matter how many times I correct her she still uses the incorrect term. I believe the old man to be hiding something but I don't make a comment as Naruto rambles on about different flavoured ramen she wants to eat. However, I can conclude that they do not appear as relatives and I touched him to feel for his chakra and it was nothing like Naruto's chakra. Naruto is adopted. Neither seems to mind._

_The old man helped Naruto grab her items. She looked over and smiled at me. I waved farewell when I could feel myself being shaken awake. Before I know it, I can see Hashirama's face looking down at me with a wide grin that reminded me much of Naruto._

Hiruzen looked over to the spot Naruto was looking at. This would be the first and only time that his sensei appeared in their time from what he read. He knew not to interfere with their friendship lest he changed the outcome of their present. However, Hiruzen would make sure that Naruto was at least safe and give her a good talk about what happened when she was older.

**1 year later: Naruto**

"Stargazing is a lot better than cloud watching," Naruto pointed out, laying down on the grass next to Shikamaru and Choji. Having snuck out of school a few minutes earlier.

Shikamaru yawned, "Can't say I've star gazed. I'm usually in bed to even bother to look at them."

Choji munched on his snacks happily, "Ne, Naruto, have you been training? You took out Sakura in no time today,"

Naruto bolted up with a wide grin, "Yup! I'm getting stronger but man, I wish I lost. Hearing her bitch makes my ears ring. I can still feel them ringing." She covered her ears with a groan as her two companions laughed.

"I've been wondering," Shikamaru piped up, "Why do you hang out with us? The girls don't really like us at all." He was curious. Naruto never interacted with the girls in their class unless it was during a spar or they had kunoichi classes. Otherwise, Naruto was always seen daydreaming or joining Choji and him in skipping class. The blonde even had a large dislike towards Sasuke Uchiha, the most popular boy in their school. She was far from the normal standard of girls he knew.

Naruto laughed, "Why not?" She said cheerfully, "Those girls aren't serious about being proper shinobi. They care more about their hair and going on _diets_," Naruto poked her tongue out in disgust, "And boys, gosh it's gross. Well, I guess Hinata is not like them but she's a bit weird. I wanna be a strong kunoichi that no man looks down on me and be strong enough to take care of myself and those I care about!" She said passionately.

Choji chuckled, "That sounds really cool, Naruto."

"Really?" Naruto's eyes sparkled, "I was told I sounded like an idiot," She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"So, you like hanging out with us?" Shikamaru questioned, moved by her words.

Naruto nodded, "Of course!"

Shikamaru pointed to the clouds, "That looks like a melon,"

"Just because it's a circle doesn't mean it's a melon," Choji deadpanned as Naruto laughed.

"Why aren't you in school, Naruto?"

Naruto screamed, rolling down the hill in fright.

Shikamaru and Choji got up quickly, seeing a chunin standing behind them and gulped. They were in so much trouble and by the looks of him, he was an Uchiha.

Naruto finished rolling down the hill and pointed heatedly, "Damn it, Itachi-sensei! I could've died."

Itachi folded his arms and arched a brow, "Why aren't you in school?" He asked once more, waiting as the blonde trudged back up to him. "Having a good education is also a part of being a good shinobi."

"But it's boring!" Naruto pouted, "I'm not learning the cool stuff like the boys. Why do I need to learn flower arrangements or how to put on makeup?! I'm only five damn it! I wanna do the obstacles courses and stealth training."

"Ehh that sounds so lame," Shikamaru didn't know the girls learnt that till now.

"Flower arrangement sounds fun," Choji said.

Itachi felt his mind prickle, "You're too young to be wearing makeup." Having spent a year now training Naruto from the ground up. She was still a little spitfire and Itachi adored the time he spent with her. His clan didn't know of the arrangement he had but his mother had suspected he was seeing a girl. He was, but not in the context that she was hoping for. "But education is important."

"Then you admit it's lame," Naruto asked hopefully.

"I did not say that," Itachi replied and faced the two boys, "You two shouldn't be skipping school either. Your parents would not be happy to know that you're playing truant."

The two boys gulped and quickly hiked it back to the school.

Naruto huffed, "Did you have to chase them away?"

"Skipping school won't get you anywhere," Itachi said and gestured for her to sit down with him. "What happened this time?" He said gently, seeing her shoulders dropped. He was informed by one of his summons that Naruto had skipped and immediately tracked her down once he was done with clan meetings.

"It was stupid Mizuki-sensei again. I won my spar against Sakura but he said I cheated and gave her the win. Everyone says I lost! I tried to tell him but he yelled at me and gave me detention." Naruto sniffed, pulling her knees to her chest, "I'm still a crybaby. I haven't gotten stronger at all."

Itachi reached over and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "One cruel person does not dictate your hard work, Naruto. I doubt that other students in your class can do the chakra control exercises that you can do or dodge as fast as you." He caught her gaze and squeezed her shoulder, "Don't let one person drag you down when you have many more cheering for you."

Naruto wiped her eyes and nodded, "Damn, you're right. You always know what to say, Itachi-sensei."

"That's because you're not an idiot that others like to believe you to be," He joked as Naruto rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "Mind telling me why you've been hiding?"

Naruto chewed on her lip, "It's easier this way, I guess. People get angry at me when I do things right or just ignore me." She took a shuddering breath, "Why do they hate me, Itachi-sensei?"

Itachi felt his heart go out to the girl, "You know what, when you're a genin we'll have a sit-down and we'll talk about it."

"You promise?"

"I promise." Itachi nodded, "For now, tell me what you want to do? Do you want to continue down this path?" he saw her nod and took a deep breath, "Well, playing ignorant is a lot harder than giving it your all. It requires a lot of focus but don't hide away Naruto. Especially from your friends, okay. It will do you no good."

"I know you're talking but I don't really understand." Naruto said truthfully, "Is this one of those, I'll understand it when I'm older and wiser, things?"

"Perhaps." Itachi mused, "For now, let's go visit the Hokage and let him know. I'm sure when you explain to him that the Hokage will understand."

"But won't I be deceiving people?"

"Deceptions is also a skill a shinobi must hone," Itachi nodded, standing up and helping the blonde to her feet.

"Ahh I never thought about it that way. Also, Itachi-sensei," She peered up at him curiously, "Why is there a girl stalking you?"

"What?" Itachi muttered in shock.

"Yeah! She's been hiding in the bush a few metres away just staring at you. I can sense jealousy from her or at least I think it's jealousy. I've been giving the negative emotions a colour and she feels kinda green and purple." Naruto replied and discreetly pointed in the direction of where the girl was hiding.

"Thank you for telling me," Itachi replied and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh, now it's back to green."

Itachi sighed and disappeared with Naruto in a shunshin. He would have to speak firmly to his cousin to back off. He couldn't risk Naruto getting hurt due to a misunderstanding.

**Dreamland:**

"Why is it always this damn creepy forest?!" Naruto shouted in frustration. Coming well acquainted with the thick forest. "Screw this! Imma explore." She huffed and stalked off in a random direction. "Stupid bastard. Thinks he's so cool cause he's smart and from a _prestigious_ clan," She mocked, leaping over a fallen log. "So what?! I'll never kiss his ass. Those girls are stupid! One of these days imma grind his face into the ground!" She shouted and growled when her fist phased through a tree, "Dammit! I can't even vent here! Wake upppp~!" She shouted at herself and slapped her face. "Owww~" she whined as her face started to sting. She pointed up at the moon angrily, "Just you watch, Kami-sama, I'll find a way outta this dream! And when I met you, imma grind your face too!"

Naruto was frustrated and furious. No matter what she did, the bastard Sasuke would always tease and bully her. When she told Itachi, he told her to either ignore him or speak to him head-on. There was no way she wanted to deal with the bastard's horde. "One of these days I'll show him," She shook her fists before taking in a deep breath and released it. Having taken lessons with the Iruka to control her temper. It always took a long time for her to calm down but Naruto liked not feeling exhausted after giving in to her anger.

With another sigh, Naruto wondered further than she ever been in the forest. Pushing through the tree line, she gasped as she came to the end of a cliff that overlooked the vast forest below. "Woah~" She whispered in awe, the moonlight played in the trees below as the fireflies gently danced in the valley. Naruto got on her knees and leaned over the cliff, taking a look down the face and awed as the forest playfully teased her eyes with its peaceful body. Her eyes crossed as a firefly approached her and fluttered around her. She giggled and pouted when she reached out to touch it, only for her hand to pass through it. Looking back to the valley, Naruto felt at peace. As if she had always been here.

"Naruto!"

"Ahhh!" Naruto screamed, turning around and clutched her heart, "What the hell, Tobi?! I could've fallen off the cliff!" She glared at the huffing boy and asked, "What the heck happened to you?"

Tobirama sighed in relief, "I heard you yelling and believed something horrible had happened to you. I see that you are fine."

"I was fine before you scared the crap outta me," Naruto grizzled before settling back down to look over the valley, "Since you're here, what is this place?" Pointing down at what caught her heart. "It's so pretty here,"

"It's the no man's land. Deadlands. A lot of clans fight and die there," Tobirama pinched his nose. "Why…" he took a deep breath, "Why were you yelling?"

"Argh," Naruto groaned, "It was that bastard again. Dumbass kept saying I was going to fail to be a shinobi and to just give up...and...and everyone _laughed_!"

Tobirama sat down next to the upset blonde. He caught the sadness in her eyes more than the anger. He still wasn't the best at comforting people and doing so with Naruto was way out of his league. The first time he did, he made her cry. From then on, he learnt to either listen to her or distract her. "You know, Naruto, it's been three years since I first met you."

"Three?" Naruto peered over to her friend. He seemed the same to her. "I've only known you for a year though,"

"I see," He commented, "It's October 10th. Happy 6th birthday, Naruto." He looked away when she smiles softly at him. This was a first. Used to her large and overbearing grins. "Are you safe?" He questioned, thinking about their first meeting and her half-dead state.

Naruto pulled her knees to her chest, overlooking the valley, "Ji-chama says he has watchers outside my apartment. If anything happens, I'm to run straight to his office."

Tobirama had trouble understanding Naruto's words at times. They seemed foreign, like the word 'apartment' but he supposed it meant the place she stayed at. He would never get used to her crude mouth, however.

"When is your birthday, Tobi?" She asked curiously.

"February 19th."

"Favourite food? Mine is miso ramen and red bean soup,"

"Fresh fish that I caught from the rivers," He held up his hand suddenly, stopping Naruto from asking further questions. "What's going on? You've never been curious about my life," He saw her face turn bright red at his remark.

"It's cause I don't know anything about you, dattebayo!" Naruto huffed in embarrassment, "It's been three years for you and I don't...I just wanna know more okay. The only thing I know is that when I'm watching you."

"Which are?" Tobirama arched a brow as she ranted.

"W-well, you prefer using suiton jutsu and you really love your brothers." She flushed harder under his gaze, "A-also, you fold your arms when you get annoyed and don't like it when I add -chama to your name. I don't know much, okay, but I feel like you know me a lot more than I know you."

"That's because of your motormouth," He replied, taking in her responses. They were honest and endearing. "Is that why you are curious? Because you know nothing about me."

"That's not why," Naruto threw her hands up in frustration, "It's cause I've been a bad friend and don't listen to you if you've got problems, dattebayo, and you always listen to mine. You're my first friend and I want to take care of you better." she said firmly, nodding at her own words, "I don't care what other people think, even if you are a dream, you're my first friend and I'm going to be better for you."

"As always, you're an idiot, but–" He held his hand up once again to silence her from talking, "–I am touched by your words. In this part of the world, one does not have the luxury to sit down and talk with friends. Seeing as I have known you for a long time, I do believe we are acquainted enough to be friends." He saw her smile at him happily, "Even though you're a ghost."

"I'm not a ghost, teme!" Naruto growled, shaking her fist at him and saw his lip twitch up in a small smile. "If you want," She said gently, "You can be a motormouth too and I promise to listen."

"I will keep that in mind." He saw her hold out a pinky to him and arched a brow, "We can't touch, baka," He said, though the insult was soft with no bite.

"So? A promise is a promise." Naruto said, "Let's be friends. Always."

"And if I say no?"

"I'll scream at you forever so you never get sleep," Naruto said playfully and laughed when he cringed. "I'm joking but I will get my revenge. Friends?"

Tobirama sighed, shaking his head as he replied, "After chasing after you even though you're a ghost–"

"I'm not a ghost!"

"–that enough proves that I see this union as a friendship." He linked his pinky with her as best as he could. Tobirama was never too sure when he'd met Naruto. Days, weeks, months or perhaps even years could pass before he could ever see her but he swore to continue to meet her whenever he could.

"I'm so excited," Naruto claimed, feeling his cool chakra tingle where their skin touched, "No matter how many years pass by, I swear I'll come and find you, dattebayo! That's a promise." She saw her hand becoming transparent and sighed, "Damn, I didn't wanna go just yet. Ne, Tobi, the next time I come you gotta show me how to fish, okay?"

Tobirama nodded, seeing her once again disappear from his view, "Of course," When she left him, Tobirama let out a deep sigh. "Perhaps I'm going mad making a promise like that," Shaking his head, he stood and headed back home. "Not a ghost. Not a projection. Just what is happening here," He muttered to himself. His mind returning back to the clothing that Naruto was wearing. They were odd and he didn't recognise them around the Land of Fire. "Perhaps from a foreign land?" He mused, "Then how is it possible to visit in such a form? Naruto doesn't seem to know what is happening either." Another sigh later, Tobirama dismissed his growing theories. Deciding to write down his thoughts later.

**Diary entrance:**

_I haven't seen Naruto in a month. I wonder if she is okay. Due to her motormouth and lack of respect, I do believe that she would get into a fight. That idiot better be okay._

_I'm no closer to figuring out what is happening between Naruto and I. I recently visited a shaman. A useless venture. They claim that I am not being haunted. I should've known better. I know that Naruto is alive, I just don't know where she is or how we are able to meet as we do. Father is getting suspicious of my late night walks but I've managed to deter him by showing my coming mastery with suiton. It wasn't wrong either. Each passing night I don't see her, I train and train till my body can no longer take the punishment. _

_Hashirama has been getting defiant. I believe in Anii-chan's words about stopping the fighting. Too many have died in vain. Especially children. Naruto has shown me how shinobi children should be; carefree yet cautious. A balance between shinobi training and childhood antics. Wherever she is from, it must be a peaceful village. Ah, peaceful but hateful towards her. I still don't see why she stays there. Perhaps I should offer her directions to where my clan resides and offer her a place? Perhaps. I'm getting off topic. I believe the adults need to sit down with one another and reach a truce, bringing an end to the needless fighting. Adults are truly idiotic. _

_I'm currently writing in my special hideout. It's rather peaceful here. Much better than the arguments at ho–_

_Heavens, she's here! The idiot hasn't spotted me yet but she's smiling. Ah, she's seen me and if were possible, her smile has gotten bigger. Damn, I think she's going to tackle me. Idiot. She should know better. I must go._

Hiruzen placed the diary down and hummed. "It's a rather cute friendship if I do say so myself,"

"Have you read all of Nidaime-sama's diaries, Sandiame-sama?" Itachi asked, sitting across from the man.

"I have," Hiruzen said with a calm face. Not giving anything away to the curious Uchiha. It was enlightening seeing a new side to his sensei. "However, I need to look closer at Tobirama-sensei's writings to finalise a plan. How is Naru-chan doing with her training?"

"She has far surpassed my expectations. I would even suggest that she graduate early but Naruto wishes to stay with the friends she has made."

"Ahh Shikamaru-kun and Choji-kun. Naru-chan has told me a lot about them," Hiruzen chuckled, "I suppose it's not a bad idea to keep her with those her age. How is her progress in school?"

"From what she says, it's boring." Itachi said with a smile, "She skips most of her classes with the two boys unless there is a practical session. If it weren't for her delinquent behaviour, I believe she would be top rookie of her class. However, Naruto insists to keep herself hidden and I must say that her pranks are becoming more sophisticated. I'm going to suggest that she start studying fuinjutsu, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen chuckled when he felt the nerves roll of Itachi despite his calm facade, "Please, Itachi, speak your mind,"

"I'm worried about Naruto and her _condition_. She will find out soon rather than later. Naruto is awfully observant, piecing information together, thinking on it, and delivering her response. I've seen it happen when she decided to get revenge on the teachers or the shopkeepers that deny her service. I'm worried about how she may react when she learns about it on her own."

Hiruzen softened at the worry the boy gave to his student. He knew that Naruto was much more than a student for Itachi. She was an anchor for him. Keeping him levelled between his double agent duties, ANBU duties, and sensei duties. Her bright personality and honest open replies helped to keep Itachi grounded and Hiruzen suspected that they would be best friends in time. Not Sasuke, like Mikoto and Kushina had hoped. Hiruzen always thought that Naruto was more like Kushina but after giving her the attention she needed, it was far from the truth. She was showing to be more like Minato every day. "I will consider your words, Itachi-kun. Should something drastic happen then I will tell Naruto about the Kyuubi – with your help."

"Of course, Hokage-sama!" Itachi straightened his back. He wanted to be there when Naruto was told the truth.

Hiruzen dismissed Itachi and returned to the book in hand.

**Diary Entrance: 1 year time skip**

_Naruto tells me that she is now 7 years of age. She has gotten taller but I don't tell her. I would never hear the end of it. She seems distracted and she tells me that she is worried for her sensei. She details that she feels his stress and in turn, she is stressed. I encourage her to ask her sensei stubbornly but her sad smile makes me stop. I immediately know that she has already tired. I ask her what her plan was should something terrible fall upon her sensei. I expected her anger at my crude question but she ends up crying. She doesn't know what to do and feels guilt for not being able to support her sensei._

_I don't know how to comfort her when she had openly comforted me with the loss of Itama. I'm a terrible friend. Where she stayed by my side as I vent my anger and watched over my sleeping body, singing away my anguish - I can only watch her hopelessly as she cries her heart out for her sensei. At times like this I loath not being able to touch her and give her comfort. All I can do is sit beside her as she cries. I feel helpless. Unable to help my one friend._

**Diary Entrance:**

_Naruto is inconsolable. I could barely make out her words but I've pieced together what has happened. She's in denial that her sensei has murdered his family and has become a rouge. She passed out in her Grandfather's office at the news and appeared before me in my room. It was a shock to have her within clan wall, at first. I make sure to keep her company and remind her that I am here with her. I don't know how to make her happy. I just know to be there for her. Curse her Grandfather for telling her so coldly. Curse the fates for not allowing me to touch her in that moment to give her comfort. Should I ever met this Itachi person I will cut him down._

_It almost makes me laugh. I can tuck her under my blanket yet I can't touch her. I laid beside her that night. Close enough for her to hear my breathing so she could relax. Naruto fell asleep with tears staining her cheeks. I wish I could take away her sensory abilities, tis more a curse than a blessing. At least for one day, I wish to help Naruto more than I can as I am. _

_I, Tobirama Senju, swear to never make Naruto cry. I, Tobirama Senju, swear to always make Naruto smile. I swear._

**Diary Entrance:**

_I am now fourteen years of age. The times I have met Naruto is very few but each time we meet, she has grown. She says that she is now ten years old. Her bright personality has returned. It had taken time and she is still healing, but she is doing well and that is all I can hope for. I ask her about her training and she is more than happy to ramble to me. She has a new sensei, a man named Kakashi. From how she talks about him, they are close. I feel uncertain whenever she mentions him but the training she receives is subpar. I could train her better. _

_I've managed to deter her from exploring the Senju compound once more. It was too dangerous to have her exploring further than my room. I do trust the silly ghost but I still had to protect my clan. Even from my friend. We talk about education and I tell her about my ventures out of the Fire Country. They were uneventful due to the missions but she is eager. It was then I learn that she has never passed her village's walls. There is still so much that I don't know about her. _

_My idiot brother, Hashirama, barged into my room when I was doing pushups. It was dumb luck that I was listening to Naruto and not talking. I can see the curious look in Naruto's eyes when she looks to my brother and I frown. However, Hashirama has informed me that I must wash up and prepare to escort a noble girl around the compound. The baka doesn't give me time to respond._

"I'll be right back," Tobirama sighed as he got up. He looked pointedly to the confused blonde, "Don't leave this room. No matter how tempted you are. No exploring."

Naruto pouted, "Boo, it's always the same thing. Stay in the room ~ Stop going through my things ~"

Tobirama felt his brow twitch, "Naruto, it is considered rude to have a young female rifling through an older man's belongings."

"But I'm bored being cooped up in your room!" Naruto threw her hands up as she watched him collect items for his bath. "I either wake up here or in the forest, and you won't take me out to the forest when I appear here. At least give me something to do."

"You're a ghost. You can't touch my things." He rolled his eyes, grabbing a short-sleeved blue kimono shirt and pants. He heard her scoff behind him, "I'll be quick. It is just a matter of formality."

"Since when is showing someone around a formality?" Naruto asked, folding her arms as Tobirama picked out a yellow sash. "You must be from a rich family then."

Tobirama heard the edge in her tone and faced her, "We are a big and skilled family." When she turned to look out the window, he sighed, "Naruto–"

"It's fine. Kakashi-sensei says I need to spend as much time as I can meditating." Naruto heard Tobi sigh again before the door slid shut. Sighing now that she was alone. Something didn't sit right with her and she couldn't figure it out.

"_**You humans are idiots,"**_

"Urgh, why are you speaking now, Fuzzball?" Naruto groaned as she felt the Kyuubi stir in her mind. It was the biggest secret she kept from Tobi but she swore to the Hokage that she wouldn't let anyone know. It was all too much for her to handle. First the revelation of being the jinchuriki to the Kyuubi and within the same night, a matter of 4 hours later, Itachi killed his clan.

"_**Let me out,"**_ Kyuubi huffed, looking through his host's eyes with boredom.

"No way! The last time I let you out in the dream world you ran off." Naruto hissed back to the Kyuubi. They were on steady terms. Not the best but it was better than being enemies and having the giant beast overload her coils with his foul chakra.

"_**Of course I did. Being confined is insufferable."**_ The Kyuubi looked down at his host. He knew what was going on but refrained from telling his host. The Kyuubi had no idea how the old monkey managed to keep Naruto from discovering the truth about her friend when she was obsessed with being Hokage. It was almost laughable. From their first official meeting, he had been watching through her senses. His host was far more tolerable than his first two. At least she talked to him. Keeping his mind sane from his own impure thoughts. Lifting his head, Kyuubi felt his hair stiffen and growled.

Naruto looked up at the Kyuubi and arched a brow, "What is it?"

"_**Mito!"**_ He hissed, growling louder as he felt the chakra of his first host nearby.

Naruto sighed, "Look, you've been getting grumpier each time I come here. So, I have a proposition for you." She gained her biju's attention and grinned at him cheekily, "I'll let you out _but_~" She sang, "I get to walk you."

"_**No one walks the mighty Kyuubi!" **_He yelled at her, making her hair fly around her but she continued to smile up at him.

"Aww come on. It'll also give me a chance to use these bad boys," She dropped a hand and a golden chain fell from her shoulder blade.

Kyuubi hissed at her, "_**I am not your pet,"**_

"In a way you are. You're also a tenant in my body and so far, you've been living in me rent free." Naruto lashed her hand out and the golden chain snaked around his large neck.

"_**Damn you, Naruto! You're the worst!"**_

"Says the big furball that can't take a compliment." Naruto tsked, opening her eyes and found herself back in Tobirama's room with one clear difference. The Kyuubi was sitting beside her, standing at her height, with a collar around his neck in place of the seal and her chakra chain connecting to it and her hand. "Deny it all you want but you love walks." She giggled when he looked away from her.

"**That water boy will be furious that you're going to leave the room,"**

Naruto stuck out her tongue, "Not like he can stop me. Besides, we're just going to the forest pass the walls," She pointed out the window to a moderate sized wall. "Homerun from there on, pal."

"**I am not your pal,"**

Naruto rolled her eyes, "Sure thing, partner in crime." Winking at him when he growled. Phasing through the window, Naruto made her way towards the wall with a slight skip in her step. The wall was made out of thick wood and Naruto frowned as she reached out to touch it. She felt the hum of smooth chakra beneath her fingers, "Waa~ Kyuubi, there's chakra in the wall. Like, it's alive,"

Kyuubi snorted, sitting down and ruffled his ears, "**Of course it has chakra. The one who made this wall is this clan's ace."**

Naruto looked to the Kyuubi suspiciously. Before she could ask the Kyuubi about what he was talking about, she heard a people giggling.

Kyuubi followed the sounds too and sneered when he spotted a trio of young teenage girls dressed in elaborate kimonos. "**Ugly. The absolute lot of them. No amount of jewels will cover their hideous personality,"**

Naruto swallowed hard, she could feel the trio's negative emotions. It was dark green.

Kyuubi looked up at his host and saw the confusion in her eyes. Tugging on the chain, he caught her attention and motioned to head over to the giggling girls. "**You won't figure out the new emotion if you don't know what it is?"** He looked away when he saw the vulnerability in her eyes as she trusted him. He absolutely detested it. Digging his paw into the ground, Kyuubi led Naruto over to the girls as they gossiped wildly in the small garden.

"Do you know what it is?"

"**Of course I do. Your sensory ability comes from me, idiot,"** Kyuubi scoffed, nudging his host from behind. "**Just listen and tell me what you think it is,"**

"Aah okay," Naruto nodded nervously as she approached the group. Swallowing thickly, Naruto listened as Kyuubi sat at her heels. She could feel his tails wrap around her gently, helping to ease her anxiousness.

A raven-haired beauty snickered behind her delicate hand. Her purple kimono adorned with pearls and intricate designs. Sitting between her two friends as she lightly gushes, "I tell no lies. Father is arranging a betrothal for me to the main house of Senju. Unfortunately, it is not the eldest of the brothers but the second son will just have to do. Cool and strong," She smiled when her companions giggled, "Father has worked hard to get into the Senju's graces for me to marry the man of my dreams." She sighed lightly, her auburn coloured eyes sparkling in delight, "In a matter of weeks I will wear a dress made of the finest satin and silk."

"Only the best pearls will be woven into your hair," A girl in a peach kimono gushed.

"Just imagine the jewels and clothes your husband will pay to your family. The Senju are rumoured to have enough wealth to buy several mountains." The one in green commented with a dreamy sigh.

"Indeed," The girl in purple said, "And soon it shall all be mine. A matriarch in the Senju house." She giggled into her hand, "It's just a bonus that Tobirama-kun is handsome,"

Her friends giggled, "Oh you're so sly, Madame,"

She giggled once more, "I should be thankful that the little cretin died by Uchiha hands. Can you imagine _me_ the wife of Itama? The little disgrace and so unsightly," She laughed louder when her friends joined in. "I would have to kill him myself. A woman such as myself would be ruined being married to _that_."

"Oh madame, your words are true,"

Naruto took a step back, feeling her knees almost give under the revelation. If it hadn't been for Kyuubi, Naruto knew she would've fallen on her backside. "W-what…?"

"**Greed,"** Kyuubi pointed out as the greed the trio excluded was becoming more and more potent. "**Dark ambition. Humans are the worst kind,"** he tugged on the chain, "**Come, we must go."**

Naruto nodded, taking another step back. "Kyuubi...they mentioned the Uchiha…"

"**Let's go, kit,"** He tugged on the chain again. She turned to look at him and his eyes widened at the unshed tears in her eyes.

"O-okay," Naruto buried her hand into the Kyuubi's fur and leaned into him. Resting her head on his snout, "An Uchiha killed Itama. Where am I, Kyuubi?"

Kyuubi felt out of place but since he was inside her, he could feel her emotions too. "**Let's find a quiet place and I will explain what I can. When you wake up you need to get the old monkey to tell you everything."** He licked her cheek when he heard her sniffle. "**Don't get soft on me now, kit."** Kyuubi led her towards the wall, looking behind him just as the Senju brothers came into view. They would not seem him leaving with Naruto. Kyuubi led Naruto through the Senju territory, past the forest area she would meet with her friend, and far beyond till it was nightfall. Naruto had kept quiet and didn't complain about the walk. He peered up at the great temple that was hidden in the thick forest. Taking in a deep breath, Kyuubi was welcomed with the scent of home and pushed opened the large doors with his tails.

"**Who dares to enter my temple?!" **A hard voice boomed off the walls of the temple.

Naruto snapped out of her daze and shivered, "What is this place?"

Kyuubi stepped forward and barked, "**It's me you idiot. Can't you recognise yourself!"**

Naruto's eyes widened as a large red eye appeared in the abyss. Her mouth hung as a giant fox appeared out of the shadow with nine fiery tails that threatened to destroy the temple they were in. "Oh shi~"

Kyuubi stuffed his tail around her mouth, "**Looking good,"** he commented with a feral grin. "**And you can see us, bonus."**

The large Kyuubi sneered and glared at the blonde child. The awe in her eyes disturbed him but the sight of himself in a small astral form intrigued him more, "**What is going on?"**

"**The Gods are at work. Nothing we can do to stop it,"** The small Kyuubi replied and led Naruto further into the temple. There was a skylight in the middle and illuminated the mini forest in the temple. He pushed her towards a log to sit and sat beside her. "**This here is my host, Naruto Uzumaki. In 80 years or so, she will be your host."** the small Kyuubi was unaffected when the large Kyuubi growled. His host wasn't bothered either and was proud. "**She is the one that the old man was talking about. Although, you haven't met her before I have in the past just as what is happening right now. Being angry and denial won't change that we will be sealed within her."**

"**Then I will kill all Uzumaki!" **

"**Maah I see why I was frustrated before."** The small Kyuubi muttered, "**Not that you can touch either of us anyway. You can only see and hear us."** He commented just as the large Kyuubi made a swipe at them.

Naruto frowned, "Ne ne, Kyuubi, what are we doing here? Is he going to give us some answers?"

The small Kyuubi flicked Naruto's nose, "**No, I will. It appears that now is the time for you to know and when you return to the real world, you need to get the rest from the old monkey. We have simply come here so that water boy won't interfere and for my old self to meet you."**

"Ahh okay then," Naruto wrapped her arms around Kyuubi and rubbed her cheek all over his thick fur. Taking a deep breath she felt calm with her companion.

Kyuubi blushed but ignored it in the meantime to explain to the larger Kyuubi, "**Whether it be the gods or fates, they have interfered in Naruto's life and she will need support. We know what happens to those that dream of the past. The bond they make makes it unbearable once the past dies."**

"**Why should I care to help?"**

"**I'm proof, idiot, and you grow to be fond of this child. Insanity will not touch her and by the old man, I will beat it into you if I could."** Kyuubi growled at the large beast, "**I want for Naruto to be able to come to our home. Being exposed to the past will harm her. Especially if she sees something that will harm her heart."** Kyuubi knew his old half was listening and that was good enough for him. In time, Naruto would win him over and he would wait patiently to be sealed within her. Even with all the anger and pain to come, he would remember Naruto and accept her as his host.

"The past? Don't be silly, that's not possible," Naruto snorted and rolled her eyes.

Kyuubi looked down at his host sadly, "**I wish it was, Kit. I have seen it myself happen to three people. They wished to spend the rest of their lives with those in the past and want to sleep all the time. They would poison themselves to sleep until they no longer wake. Some go insane when the ones they know in the past have died and kill themselves to be with them."** He saw her frown and explained, "**However, I do not believe this will happen to you. You have a stronger heart and mind than those before. You also have a better support system and live an active life."**

"Okay…" Naruto replied, trying her best to keep up with what the Kyuubi was saying. "So, I'm dreaming about the past?"

"**Yes. Whenever your body is asleep, your spirit is sent to the past. It is unknown how long it lasts for. You're currently in the warring clan era, the time before the Five Great Nations. Before Konohagakure was founded. You mustn't interfere with the past unless you don't want to be born or a terrible future replaces what you know."** Naruto gulped and nodded her head, "**I'm sure that old monkey will explain better than I can. You mustn't let that boy know you're from the future either."**

"What does Ji-chama know?"

Kyuubi smirked, "**A lot more than I do. The old fart is too scared to tell you incase it hurts you. You've been through enough at your young age. He doesn't want to further scar you,"**

"Ahh okay," Naruto nodded, somewhat agreeing with the Kyuubi. Though it sat wrong with her that her grandfather figure was hiding things from her. Things that involved her. "Ano, I have a question and it might be dumb," She gained both of the Kyuubi's attention, "But that girl called Tobi, Tobirama Senju…"

"**You idiot,"** Kyuubi snorted, "**That's the water boy's name and clan. I honestly wonder how dense you can be at times."**

"B-but Tobi…"

"**His name was already known far at a young age. Of course, he isn't going to tell you his full name. Only an idiot would give out their full name,"** He saw Naruto get embarrassed, "**This era is a dangerous time. Enemies would do anything to kill the children of the main family. When you wake up, go straight to the old monkey and get him to explain what is going on. When you need a time out then come to this temple."**

"I'm still confused," She admitted shyly. Embarrassed that she still wasn't able to piece things together as quickly.

"**You won't be once you know everything. Despite your age, you're quite mature and somewhat reasonable. Your snoring is up for debate."**

"I do _not_ snore!" When the Kyuubi smirked, she bristled, "Oh so the almighty Kyuubi can talk shit. You're just like every other furry animal and love belly rubs."

Kyuubi flicked Naruto's middle. Sending her flying and yelped when he went flying with her. The damn brat was still holding onto the chain.

The large Kyuubi watched on with a slight sneer. They were both idiots as they both jumped up to yell at one another. "**Will you two shut up!"** He silenced to two bickering fools and leaned down, nudging his nose closer to the blonde and took in her scent. She smelt like the forest and the wind on a rainy day. It was pleasant to his senses and memorised her warm and humming chakra. "**Kozou, you dare to act familiar with me yet you do not speak my name."**

"Name? I thought your name is Kyuubi,"

"**Fool! That is a mere title."** The large Kyuubi huffed, "**That rat says that he trusts you. I don't particularly like humans but if what he says is true then I will concede. I will bless you with my name and don't you dare forget it, Kozou,"** The great fox stood tall and spread his tails all around the temple, his chakra leaking all around him yet the girl showed no fear at his tainted chakra. She was in awe of him. "**I am the Kyuubi no Yoko, leader and strongest of the Biju. You may call me Kurama!"**

Naruto grinned, her cheeks making her eyes close, "Kurama," Saying his name softly, "I like your name," The blonde felt the telltale signs on her waking up and pointed her thumb at herself, "My name's Naruto Uzumaki and I'll be Hokage one day, dattebayo!"

Kurama watched as the young girl and his future self disappeared. "**Hokage?"**

Naruto sprung out of bed and quickly rushed to the Hokage's office. There was no time to lose and she knew if she went later then she wouldn't be able to reach the Hokage. He would be too busy. "Jiji!" Naruto burst through his window, somersaulting and landed before the old man. "I have something to say and you better not lie to me!" She placed her hands on her hips and looked at him stubbornly.

Hiruzen gulped at the gaze. It was just like Minato. Determined and unwavering. "What can I help you with, Naru-chan?"

"Who is Tobirama Senju and why am I dreaming about him?" She smirked when his pipe fell out of his open mouth. "Speak up, old man, I want answers. What's going on with me?"

"How did you find his name?" Hiruzen pulled himself together to ask Naruto a few questions first. As far as he knew, Naruto never revealed that she knew who Tobi was in all the years they knew each other. Not once. Did he miss something?

Naruto shrugged his shoulders, "I overheard a group of nobles talking about wanting to live off his money in my dream."

Hiruzen groaned, he remembered that passage.

_I swear up and down that I saw Naruto when I went to meet the noble daughter. I had dashed back to my room to find it empty. I couldn't even focus on pleasantries with the girl. Did she wake up? Or were my eyes true and she left the compound? She swore not to leave my room. Well...I enforced it but she always agreed. I will have to ask her the next time I see her. I have to ask her why she looked so pale if that were her. Dinner is soon and I know father wants to speak to me afterwards. The noble and his daughter will be joining us for dinner. This has been a long day._

"I apologise, Naru-chan, no matter what I come with I can't figure out why you are seeing my sensei," Hiruzen said truthfully, taking a deep breath and slouched in his chair. Holding the truth about her dream friend had been more burdensome than he had realised. Especially not knowing how it happened or how he could help her. Perhaps with knowing the truth, he could prepare her for future visits and what was to come. The First Shinobi War. The final entry of his sensei two weeks before he died. "If you are patient enough to listen then I will let you know what I know. It will be a long talk."

Naruto sunk under the withering look in his eyes and walked to him and gripped his hand, "It's okay, Ji-chama, you can tell me and I promise I will listen. I won't be the motormouth this time. You can be."

Hiruzen chuckled softly, "You said almost the same thing to Tobirama-sensei and yes, he was my sensei in time."

"How do you know what I've told him?" She asked curiously, knowing that she wasn't the one for detailed explanations whenever she told him about her dreams.

Hiruzen reached into his desk and pulled out the first volume, "This is the first diary Tobirama-sensei used to write down his encounters with you. All his thoughts are in here." He pulled the diary out of her grasp, "Unfortunately, I can't give you this to read. I know you're curious but only the Hokage are permitted to read the Hokage's diaries. Perhaps, once you take my hat you can read them too." He pinched her cheek when she pouted and gestured to over to the couch, "I'll get my secretary to get us some tea and breakfast. Then we can talk. I'm sure you must be confused and filled with questions and I will do my best to answer them."

The two chatted lightly as they waited for breakfast to arrive. A few times Hiruzen had to scold the girl for skipping classes and starting fights with Sasuke. He made sure that they ate first, belly filled with food and each with a cup of hot tea before he started.

"I best start from the beginning. When you were attacked on your 5th birthday and told me about your dreams, I suspected something big was happening. I knew this since I was Tobirama-sensei's main student and we would often talk. I believe I was seventeen when I asked sensei why he wasn't married or had any children. I was the only one who knew why and that's because he met you," He said gently to the confused girl, "Sensei had a hidden talent and that was drawing. He showed me a drawing of you, so that's how I know about what is going on between the two of you but I didn't truly know until you told me about your dream. I didn't know that his friendship with you stemmed from a young age. From your fifth birthday onwards, I've been reading sensei's diaries to see if he knew what was going on. Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to figure it out in his time but each time you two met, he would write it down. You two have a unique and close friendship," He chuckled when she blushed with a nod, "I can't give you any details, it could upset your friendship with Tobirama-sensei but you mustn't let him know that you know who he is or that you're from the present. I would kindly ask you that you keep your knowledge about Konoha to an absolute minimum. It could be dangerous and you wouldn't want to harm your friend."

Naruto shook her head, "Of course not,"

"I can only imagine that when you go to sleep that your spirit is being sent back in time. I don't know what the gods were thinking but I have to ask, are you okay? With all of this?"

Naruto shrugged, "I'm not too sure, to be honest. I always thought it was a dream but I know to be careful, Jiji. I even found a secret place to go to if I find being back there is too much."

Hiruzen let out a small breath, "That is good news at least. I don't want you clinging to the past, Naruto. I would like for you to be here in the present, with me and those that find you precious," He said sincerely. Having always worried that Naruto would rather spend time in the past with her friend than suffer through the treatment of the village. He knew she wouldn't, but it always nagged at him.

Naruto felt the sadness creep into his chakra and promised him. "I swear I won't, Jiji. Besides, I can't eat ramen there or prank anyone."

Hiruzen chuckled at her innocent answer. "Although I won't discourage your friendship with him, I want you to be careful. I will understand if this is still confusing."

"Yeah, it is a little bit," Naruto rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "Ano," Naruto looked away shyly, "What was he like, Jiji? C-could you tell me stories about him? He is the Hokage after all and I still wanna be Hokage so I must know everything there is about them."

Hiruzen smirked at her weak cover up, "Then you won't mind me starting with the Shodai Hokage," He saw her try to cover up the sour look on her face and chuckled, "Hmm, it's been a long time since I've been able to talk about sensei lightheartedly. Tobirama-sensei was a stern but fair man," He saw her eyes sparkle and settled into the couch. Deciding on cancelling all his meetings and pushing aside his paperwork. It had been a long time since he could reminisce about his past. His old teammates were bitter and preferred talking about stale topics. He felt enlightened being able to open up, despite it being to a young girl. Yet the young girl would come to know his sensei more than he ever would.


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto found herself looking over the valley. "So this is where Konoha will be built. No wonder it feels like home," She grinned when the fireflies came up to greet her. Glancing over the valley, her mind overlapped the Konoha she knew with the forest. It was wonderful and she knew where she was standing. This was to be the Hokage monument. Looking down at the cliff face, her heart knew this was the place for the Yondaime Hokage. She felt her heart filled with warmth and took in a deep breath, "Aaaaaahhhhhh!" She yelled with her arms thrown up in victory. She felt good. Better than she had in days now that she knew. Naruto knew it would be hard to keep the truth from her friend but she also didn't want to hurt the precious people that she knew by ruining their future.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto placed one foot off the edge and then plummeted down the side of the mountain face. She felt the wind whip at her face as the cold night cut at her cheeks but she felt exhilarated. Arms wide like a bird, Naruto took everything in. The betrayal of her sensei. The harrowing news about being a jinchuriki. The unbelievable truth about her dreams. Naruto took it all in as she got closer to the ground. Grinning, Naruto flipped herself around and channelled chakra to her hands and feet and gripped onto the mountain face to slow her descent. She couldn't feel the rough surface dig into her hand but it was the only thing she could touch in this world. The earth. Her descent slowed down until she found it safe enough to jump down the rest of the way to the ground.

Naruto felt as light as ever as she took off into the thick forest. Although knowing that she didn't need to dodge the trees, she wove around them expertly and flipped over and around any obstacles. Her body pumped furiously and she loved the feeling. The feeling of excitement and the unknown. She slid her body under a fallen trunk before flipping back onto her feet and took off again. Naruto stopped her run once she knew she was at the heart of Konoha. Taking in a deep breath, she could smell the warmth of the forest and felt at utter peace. She couldn't feel anyone's negative emotions and she could breathe freely. Naruto's ears twitched as she heard rustling and sent chakra to her ears. Picking up the light breathing and treading of feet. Naruto turned just in time as Tobirama burst through the forest before her. She recognised the panic in his eyes as he scanned her to make sure she was alright. He looked dishevelled and worried.

"You. Idiot!" Tobirama yelled at the blonde, marching up at her. Momentarily forgetting that he couldn't touch her as he tried to throttle her. "Why did you yell?! Better yet, why the hell did you throw yourself off a cliff?! Are you a madman?! Do you have a death wish?!"

"Tobi!" Naruto shouted, cutting him off from his ranting. "I'm fine," She spread her arms wide and spun around so he could see that nothing was wrong. "I was just letting off some steam."

Tobirama wanted to pull at his hair at her ridiculousness. Though he held his tongue once he saw the sparkle in her eyes. The same sparkle she had before her sensei had betrayed her village. He opted to sigh, "Let's get out of here. It's not safe down here."

"It's fine," Naruto quipped, "There's nobody here." She saw his annoyance and slipped into the forestry. Making her way through the forest until she entered the area she knew to be the future red light district - her home. Despite all the distasteful rumours, Naruto loved where she lived. The street women were always kind to her and chased off those that wanted to harm her. They had even given her the traumatising sex and period talk. "Y'know, I've always respected prostitutes. It's easy to not acknowledge them because of their job but y'know a person has to do what they have to do to live. Even if it means selling their bodies. They're the smartest people I know and they know the signs of a dangerous person. They also know a whole lot of things since nobody likes to look at them."

Tobi kept quiet as he followed the blonde. He didn't particularly like the women of the night and debating with Naruto was more draining than anything else.

"Kinda like shinobi," Naruto paused near a small sapling. Squatting down, Naruto knew that this would be the tree that was right outside her apartment. She just knew it in her gut. "They get paid to do assassinations. Their bodies were used and abused by the paying client. They also know the signs of a dangerous person." She wrinkled her nose. Naruto felt like she sounded like the old man.

Tobirama found light in her words but he still didn't budge from his own opinion on them. "Why are you telling me this?"

Naruto shrugged as she stood, "Dunno. You won't understand cause you come from a noble family. Talking to those less fortunate than you really opens your eyes, dattebayo."

It was times like this that Tobirama saw Naruto as a much older figure. Not a loud mouth blonde. "Did you leave my room?"

Naruto bit the inside of her cheek, recalling the feeling of the trio of girls. "Yeah, so what of it? I had to go somewhere."

"Somewhere?" Tobirama frowned, "Where is there to go for you? You don't live in the Fire Country."

Naruto looked away, "There was a place I saw a few times came here and went exploring. You were out on missions back then so I had nothing to do."

He accepted her answer for now. It was plausible. "Did you go around on my clan grounds?" he said firmly, making her face him fully. She was nervous when he folded his arms. "Did you?"

"I swear I was just going to go to the wall," Naruto quickly said.

"But?"

"But I heard people laughing and I could feel their emotions. It was so potent, Tobi, so I went to have a look." Naruto explained, shivering as the feeling resurfaced, "It was so dark. Greed. Bad ambition."

"Who? Describe them." He ordered though he knew who she was talking about.

Naruto's eyes widened, "W-well, three girls. I think your age. A-ahh they were wearing fancy kimonos and were really pretty actually," She flushed when she recalled the image of the cruel girl in purple, "I didn't hear much, I swear. I couldn't be around them long after what they said. They're bad people, Tobi, I know they are."

Tobirama sighed, "Naruto, those three women are daughters of nobles. Calling them bad with no evidence is unjust. They have been staying at the estate for a month and not once have they shown an ounce of bad deeds."

Naruto felt her heart clench, "W-why? I know what I sensed. They're bad people, Tobi. Especially that girl that wore purple. Kakashi-sensei says people like her are gold diggers."

"You can't just say that because of your sensory abilities, Naruto. Are you sure you're not confusing what you felt? There have been times you have determined emotions wrong." Tobirama pointed out, "Besides, it's been a month since your last visit. Although I'm not entirely sure why they are staying with us. Father has been having several meetings with the noblemen."

Naruto felt her heart get tighter. She was in shock. "Why?" She whispered with a slight crack in her voice.

"Why?" Tobirama arched a brow, "What do you mean why? Why what?"

"Why are you defending her?" Naruto hesitantly whispered, gripping onto the side of her sleep shirt tightly. She knew that she was shaking but she couldn't understand. They had been friends for years yet he wasn't listening to her. He was defending somebody else. Hearing her first friend defend the noble girl made her heart clench and she felt her throat close up.

"I am simply saying what I have observed in my time getting to know her. She is an elegant woman worthy of her status," Tobirama sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why must you get so worked up over this?"

Naruto felt something snap within her, "Because I'm your friend, dattebayo!" She yelled at him furiously. It was the first time she had ever blown up at him and by the shock on his face, he was surprised. "Friends are supposed to keep friends away from bad people, dattebayo! She's not elegant! She only cares about money and that you're from a good clan! She doesn't care about you!"

"Don't be ridiculous. Lady Kara would do no such thing," Tobirama sniffed, he couldn't understand why he was feeling frustrated at the blonde but the more she barked at him the more irritated he got. "You're being unreasonable and rude."

"Rude?" Naruto furrowed her brow, "Rude! Then you're the biggest idiot I've ever met! Those meetings are to arrange a marriage between you and that bitch!"

"Naruto!" Tobirama raised his voice and made her flinch, "That is enough. Arranged marriages are common in noble clans and Lady Kara will understandably be a welcomed addition. Stop being so jealous."

"Jealous," Naruto whispered the words to herself. She hugged her body tightly, not looking up at the teenager as her mind raced. "Y'know, the reason I couldn't stand being around her wasn't because of her dark emotions. It was the way she talked about Itama-chan. She was supposed to marry him and she laughed about his death. Even if she did marry him, she planned to kill him and they all laughed. How can someone joke about killing a child? – I thought. How can somebody joke about a dead man? – I thought. Go ahead and call me jealous and rude all you want. I just wanted to protect you because this is the only way I know how to. I can't protect you like your family can. So what if I'm still a child, I know that friends are meant to look out for each other." Naruto cleared her throat and took a step back, "I have to go but I wish you a happy marriage with Lady Kara, Tobi." she glanced up at him before she dashed as fast as she could away from him. So fast that he couldn't follow her.

Ignoring the call of her name, Naruto didn't stop running till she came across Kurama's home and launched herself towards the beast. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks as she cried her heart out on the Kyuubi's paw. She was thankful at that moment to the Gods for allowing her to touch the beast and to be comforted by his warm breath.

**Diary entrance:**

_I confronted Lady Kara's entourage as soon as I returned home. They easily caved and let me know in detail of Lady Kara's vile personality. I'm such a fool. Of course, I should've trusted Naruto. Not once has she given me a reason to believe that she was using me or leading down a bad path. I've told father of my findings and the marriage has been dissolved. As far as I know, they have been banned from ever setting foot in Senju territory. However…._

…_. I've hurt her. I broke my own promise. I know I made her cry. I would be a further idiot to deny my actions. When she returns, I will apologise to her and do what is necessary to gain her forgiveness. If she forgives me, that is. Some friend I am. I couldn't even keep my promise._

**Diary Entrance:**

_I've barely had time to sit down and write. How long has it been? two, maybe three, years since I've last seen her. The fighting has gotten more ridiculous but Anii-chan says it will end soon. I believe him. I know Naruto comes but she continues to ignore me. I can never catch up to her in time. This is ridiculous. I'll train harder to become the fastest ever. I will catch her and apologise profusely. That idiot has me worried._

_How much has she grown? I hope that she has been taking care of herself._

**XXXX**

Hiruzen sighed as he put down the diary. Just in time as Naruto entered the room with a cheeky grin. It had been a weekly ritual of sorts and they both enjoyed the company. "Naruto," He said sternly as he poured her a cup of tea, "It's been three months since you've talked to Tobirama-sensei. You can't avoid him forever. In his time, he was the fastest person in all of the elemental nations. He will catch up to you rather soon. I wouldn't be surprised if he's currently the fastest man in the Fire Country."

Naruto pouted, "But Jiji, he's my first friend and..." She sighed and looked off to the side, sadly. She was still hurt by Tobirama's behaviour. Naruto wondered how he was doing and if he was okay, but she couldn't bring herself to face him when she could hear him calling her name.

Hiruzen placed an encouraging hand on her shoulder, "It's okay to have these feelings, Naruto. Although I can't understand what it feels like but don't you miss talking to him? You two are close friends. Probably closer than you are with Shikamaru and Choji." He was her biggest supporter and the two kept what was happening between themselves. He even knew her companionship with the Kyuubi. Although he still didn't approve of their companionship, the way Naruto spoke about the Kyuubi made him at least acknowledge that the beast would take care of Naruto when she went to the past.

Naruto narrowed her eyes at the old man, "So what if I do. He might get mad at me cause I've been avoiding him. I don't even know how long it has been for him. Tobi usually tells me."

"Oh, so you admit that you're stupid," Hiruzen arched a teasing brow. Biting the inside of his cheek at her reaction. He knew there'd be a large age gap between the two when they meet next but he always refused to let the girl know about any details he read in Tobirama's diaries. For now, Hiruzen knew that his sensei was worried and resentful. Outside of his family, Naruto was Tobirama's first friend and by not being bonded by blood it didn't erase the tension between the two.

"It was one time, old man! One time!" She scowled, "I learnt my lesson alright. I'll always come to you when I make a new seal."

"I know you will. It just feels good to gloat," He joked, "However, now that you're progressing well in fuinjutsu, I don't want you to abandon your other areas of study. I'm happy that you've taken an interest in the art but a shinobi must also hone their basic skills and be well rounded."

Naruto listened intently to the old man. She knew that with her relationship with the Hokage that she was getting more than what her peers would be learning. She didn't want to take his words for granted and tried her best to listen to his advice. Of course, there were plenty of times she ignored him and both of them having a yelling match at times.

Hiruzen beamed at the growth of his beloved child. She was no doubt the light in his life, especially when his wife passed away in the attack.

"Y'know, when you said that Tobirama was the fastest man alive, were you being foreboding?" She prodded.

"I can't say," he said offhandedly. Holding back his grin when a crack appeared in her cup due to the pressure she used.

"Damn it, you old fool! Let me read those damn diaries! You've been reading and giggling over them more than your pervy books!" Naruto stood up and pointed at him heatedly. "You've already read them a million times!"

"Heh and where's the fun in that. Not happening, brat." He flicked her nose, making her yelp and clutch it like a wet kitten.

"Just you watch, Jiji, when I get that hat I'll read all of it. Even your diaries!" She threatened.

"Good then you can read about all the shit I've talked about you in it," He laughed when she launched herself at him. He easily got up and sidestepped her. "Oh is that the best you can do, _Godaime-sama_," He teased, continuing to laugh as she chased him around his office. He would always cherish these moments with Naruto and he knew she would too.

**XXXX**

Naruto looked around the familiar forest and the accompanying river bed and groaned, "I swear I had this down. I was supposed to wake up at the temple!" Naruto shook her fist to the full moon before sighing. Running her fingers through her loose hair, she dreaded the long walk to visit Kurama. "Better start now or I'll never make it before I wake up," she muttered to herself and crossed the river. Naruto felt Kurama's soothing chakra make its way through her body, not harming her but keeping her calm. Making it past the river, Naruto reached the edge of the clearing and leapt back in surprise as she was shocked. "What the–" Naruto mumbled and tried walking forward again, only to hiss as she was mildly electrocuted. "What. The. Fuck!" She huffed and gathered chakra in her hand and touched the invisible wall that was stopping her. Ignoring the jolting pain, Naruto's eyes scanned the large barrier that trapped her within the clearing and the twelve points of paper seals that held the barrier in place. Naruto felt herself start to panic, she was trapped.

Naruto rushed to the nearest seal and scanned the fuinjutsu diligently. "No no no no that's not possible," She hissed to herself as she recognised the stabilizer seal being fortified by several raiton seals. Her trained eyes easily picked up the underlying katon seal under the raiton and cursed. "Of course he would find out. He's smarter than you, Naruto," She scolded herself and palmed her forehead. "Calm down, you've got this. Simple, just break down the seal and then be on my way. Haha simple," She joked lightly to herself as she channelled chakra to her fingertip and began decoding the seal as efficiently and quickly as possible into the dirt. "Shit, it's powered more with spiritual chakra than physical. A tough one but I think I can overwrite it. Just...a few...more…" Naruto growled as she tried to keep her hand still as she wrote. Her hands were already cramped from helping the old man with his paperwork. Naruto's eyes widened when her work was washed away with water and screamed, "Ahh my seal!" Whirling around on her heels, Naruto held up a single hand sign and took in a deep breath. Blowing a powerful gust of wind at the bastard that sealed her within the clearing. Seeing the bastard fly out of the barrier and slam into the tree made Naruto smirk. However, she paled a second later when a large torrent of water was sent her way and not being able to move far in the barrier, she was washed up against the barrier. Being suffocated by the water and electrocuted by the barrier. "Ah!"

Naruto wheezed due to the powerful suiton jutsu. Getting up on her hands and knees, Naruto glared up at the bastard, "You've locked me up, bastard," Although soaking wet and jumpy, Naruto smirked at his ruffled appearance. Sighing, Naruto sat up and leaned back on her forearms, "How did you figure it out? That I'm able to use chakra."

Tobirama sighed and sat down next to her. "Every time I tried catching up to you, I noticed signs that you were using chakra and leaving marks on the earth." He commented, raking his eyes over her body. She hadn't aged as much as he thought she would. However, Tobirama noticed that she was starting to grow into the body of a woman. "You have no physical body so it was the only theory that you're drawing upon spiritual chakra. I've read up on ghosts and phantoms and there is a rumour circulating in the spiritual community that one way to trap spirits with an element with a high frequency, raiton. I had the seal altered to alert me should–" Tobirama paused, sighing as he ran his fingers through his shaggy hair, "That's not why I set up the barrier. I sincerely apologise, Naruto. I had no intentions of hurting you the way I did. It was foolish of me to treat you the way I did and I swear I won't do it ever again. Shit, I'm sorry, Naruto."

Naruto's eyes widened hearing the future Nidaime swear. She could feel his anguish and anger. Yet the anger wasn't directed at her, it was towards himself. "I...ah–" For the first time in her life, Naruto was speechless. "Why twelve points?" She asked instead.

Tobirama snorted at her weak acceptance of his apology. He knew moments like this made her feel awkward. "Aren't you mad at me for trapping you in here? It was the only way I knew how to talk to you without having you run off."

Naruto shrugged, "You would've caught me sooner or later. You're really fast, dattebayo," The blonde leapt to her feet and went back to the seal. Examining it leisurely now that she was caught by the one person she was afraid to meet. Their meeting went better than she expected.

Tobirama stood, seeing her eyes widen as he towered over her. "Also, twelve so it would slow down your escape. I can never be too careful when it comes to you. The only people I've seen with such a talent live far from here," He said and approached her, seeing her mouth drop. He frowned at her reaction, "What is it?"

"What?" Naruto gaped before throwing her arms wide, "I'm barely even half your size, Tobi! I even had a growth spurt last summer. I ate vegetables, fruits, protein," Naruto listed off on her fingers, "that nasty ass green stuff and more!" She shook her fist at him, "Damn you, Tobi."

Tobirama just smirked, "It does help that I'm seventeen now, Naruto. A brat like you can't keep up." He chuckled when she pouted, turning her head away from him. She saw her eyes shimmer in excitement as she looked over the seal again. Tobirama would always be amazed by Mito's creation when he offered her his idea and within two weeks she had a seal for him. He also respected the woman for not prying. "Friends?"

Naruto cast him a quick glance, "We will always be friends. I'm sorry that I yelled at you like that. I was really hurt when you were defending her.." She frowned as she traced the seal with her eyes, "I'm almost twelve, by the way, next month. Anyway, looking at this seal I know it's not yours. I can't figure it out but whoever made this left their chakra signature tied to it. It's small but it is there."

Tobirama stood beside Naruto and felt around. Sure enough, he could feel faint traces of Mito's chakra. He would have to let her know. Tobirama knew his fair share of fuinjutsu but nothing complex like his brother and his betrothed. He looked down at Naruto and saw the intensity in her eyes. It reminded him of Mito or any Uzumaki when it came to fuinjutsu. He filed his observation away for later when he saw her grin mischievously, "What is it?"

Naruto looked up to Tobirama smugly, "This," Naruto held up a hand, gathering chakra and placed her hand over the seal. Holding up her other hand in a single seal, Naruto concentrated and flared her chakra.

Tobirama gaped as he saw the barrier fall as the other eleven seals disintegrated. He stared down at Naruto in fascination. She had just broken one of Mito's seals within minutes. "How?" He asked curiously as she ran out into the open with laughter. Tobirama rolled his eyes and chased after her, knowing exactly where she was heading.

"I'm still no good," Naruto said over her shoulder with a large grin, "But Jiji says that in a few years I could be a fuinjutsu master. Jiji taught me all he knew so I've been experimenting on my own with supervision." Naruto laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her head, "I accidentally blew up an entire training ground trying to make a concentrated paper bomb. Maaan Jiji got so angry at me and even Kakashi-sensei chewed my ear out." Landing near the cliff of the monument, Naruto took in the familiar sight. Having spent the dream time with the Kyuubi of the past, Naruto didn't dare to visit this place in case Tobirama found her. "Jiji says he'll have another teacher for me but it'll be a long time before he can come since he travels everywhere." Naruto looked up at Tobirama and found him looking at her, "What?"

Tobirama shook his head, "It's been three years since I last saw you. I feel like you'll disappear at any minute if I'm not watching you."

"Oh," Naruto looked off to the side with a pang in her heart. This was the feeling that Kurama had warned her about, "Well, we live far apart. I can't keep sleeping to visit you, y'know. I mean, I like seeing you and all but…" She huffed, not knowing how to explain herself.

Tobirama looked at Naruto fondly. Although she couldn't hold his gaze, he knew she was just as worried as he was. One day, one of them would die and they wouldn't know until they died themselves. "I understand, don't get so flustered." He commented and sat down at the edge. He didn't move when she joined him, sitting closer than what he was used to but this was Naruto. A young lady that didn't follow the rules and traditions. Them being alone like this was scandalous enough if others could see her. "Where are you?" He asked her boldly.

Naruto hummed, listening to the swaying trees. She pointed in the direction of where her apartment would be built, "I'm far away. Where I am there is no war and the children can still laugh. How's the fighting on your end?"

Tobirama stared off in the distance of where she pointed. It was in the direction of Uzushiogakure but it wasn't certain. He couldn't sense the full scope of her chakra except that it was warm. She was talented in fuinjutsu and by the use of her fuuton, she was skilled in ninjutsu. It wasn't enough. "We're in the heat of war by now. I estimate another three or four years before the war is finally over and we can rest. Many have fallen, from both sides." He let out a tired sigh.

Naruto felt conflicted before asking, "How are you doing?"

Tobirama glanced over at her, seeing the concern clear on her face. He was stunned that she actually asked him instead of hesitating as usual. "I'm okay. How are you?"

"That's not what I mean," The blonde huffed, she pointed to his heart and asked again, "How are you doing?"

The Senju was about to rebuff her question but the hard look in her eyes made him reconsider. She was far younger than him but he knew that look. She wasn't going to let it go until he answered appropriately. He sighed, "As well as one can be during war. Exhausted. Tired of all the fighting. All the planning. Constantly watching our backs. One cannot relax for too long around here."

"That sucks," Naruto said after a while, making Tobirama snort in agreement. "It'll get better one day, dattebayo, I just know it."

Tobirama stared at her blankly, "How can you say that so easily? War and death is not as straightforward as you think–"

"I believe in you," Naruto cut him off, returning her gaze to the valley below. It was odd to see the same view but without the lights of the buildings yet it was still mesmerising. "I also believe in your brother,"

"You don't know him." Tobirama pointed out. Unsure where her confidence came from. Even he had doubts about the war.

"True, but I know you and I believe in you, Tobi. You believe in your brother, so I believe in him too." Naruto insisted as she heard the owls coo. She swung her legs over the edge happily as she let the pride fill her, knowing that this place would soon be her home. "I just know it," She whispered, already hearing the sounds of a bustling street as children ran around laughing and the old women gathered in a circle gossiping.

Tobirama saw the soft smile on her lips at the sparkle in her eyes. He felt an uncomfortable thud in his chest at the sight. Her confidence astounded him that he let out a little chuckle and said "You've come far from when we first met," He saw her tense, "It's a compliment," he cleared up, seeing her fidget under his gaze as she glanced over to him. "Did I say something to offend you?"

"A-ah, I'm just not used to them," Naruto muttered as her cheeks darkened, "I don't think I ever will be."

Tobirama filed that away along with everything mysterious about her. The women he knew basked under praise and acknowledgement. Naruto was humble or perhaps awkward. "Naruto," He caught her dark blue gaze and held it, "Are you okay?" He asked softly, seeing the way her eyes softened and her lip curling just slightly. She was touched by his concern but now it was his turn.

"I won't be okay for a long time," Naruto answered Tobirama honestly. She knew she didn't need to explain what she was talking about as his reassuring nod let her know everything she needed to. She never sought help after Itachi left and she never brought it up. It was locked in her heart but Naruto trusted Tobirama. He was her first friend and he would never intentionally hurt her. "It's a long rant," She warned, turning her body to face him.

"I've been waiting for three years. I have mastered patience with you."

Although his voice was void, Naruto laughed at his joke. "Thanks. It might sound silly but I want to believe in Itachi-sensei," She heard Tobirama's breath hitch and was grateful that he didn't say anything, "I want to find him and ask him why he did it. I don't believe that he went crazy with power. I know him well, I'd like to think that I know him." Naruto pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them, "Itachi...I see him as my best friend, dattebayo. We understood each other, especially through our fists. If I told anyone about my true feelings then they would no doubt tell me to give up on him...but...I want to save my best friend. I don't want to turn my back on him."

Tobirama didn't agree or disagree with her words. He was there when she was absolutely devastated by his betrayal and he was the one to help her get back onto her feet. Tobirama would be a child to claim that he helped her all on his own. There were those precious to her in her village that helped her but he was the one she could be open with. In return, he could be open with her. "I'm not saying I agree or disagree," He gave her his thoughts, "But you have to consider that he is a criminal. Nobody will be happy with you affiliating with a criminal, they might see you as an alias."

Naruto sighed, "You're right. I know it's an idiot's quest but I'm not giving up on it."

Tobirama saw the stubborn fire in her eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Very well but on one condition and I will agree to your idiocy."

Naruto straightened her back and lit up, "Really? What is it?"

"Should your village ever cast you out, seek me out and come to my village." He said firmly, giving the blonde girl an option should she ever want to leave her village. "I live in the fire country. That is a starting point."

Naruto, although baffled by his request, nodded hesitantly.

Tobirama noticed her reaction and said, "Nothing bad will happen to you, I swear."

Naruto shook her head, "That's not it. You were strongly against us knowing who we were. You've changed a lot, Tobi-chama."

"It's -chan," He quickly corrected and softly smiled when the blonde laughed.

"Tobi-_chan_?"

Tobirama's face hardened, "No."

Naruto laughed harder, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "Y-yeah, you're right. -Chama suits you better."

"Neither suit, Naru-chan." He smirked when she paled at the name.

"No no no please don't. I swear I won't do it again," Naruto pleaded. It was bad enough that Kakashi had picked up the name and whenever he called her sweetly, it made her want to gag.

"It suits you, Naru-chan. Very feminine for a tomboy," He chuckled when she stuck her tongue out at him. However, his smile didn't last long when he saw her body start to fade, "Naruto–"

"I promise I won't run away again," Naruto grinned, cutting off the future Nidaime Hokage. "I'm sorry for acting childish but I'll start talking it out with you, dattebayo. Ah, also, get some rest. You look like shit and find some time to relax when you can. I'll be back before you know it!"

Tobirama couldn't help but chuckle as she faded away. Nagging at him. He felt lighter, having seen her again after so long. He felt refreshed as if the war wasn't looming over his shoulder. Tobirama spent a few more minutes overlooking the forest before making his way back home. It was the early hours of the morning but his clansmen knew of his late night habit. Despite his cousin's jabs that he was out getting laid, nobody could find proof that it held true. Heading into the Senju compound, greeting the guards with a nod, he made his way over to the main house and found Mito already up with a cup of tea. He hesitated till her eyes beckoned him over to join her. Sighing, Tobirama complied and sat across from her. Waiting till she poured him a cup of tea before saying, "Your seals have a fault in them," He ignored her spilling the tea, "You leave residue chakra deep within the seal. A keen sensor would be able to pick it up with enough concentration."

Mito gathered her graces and tucked her hand on her lap. Looking over her future brother-in-law, she noted that he seemed lighter. "The seal works then,"

Tobirama took a sip of the green tea before answering, "Yes but it was also broken in a minute."

Mito gasped, "That's not possible. I went over that seal numerous times."

"Perhaps there is a better fuinjutsu user than you,"

Mito wasn't pleased, "Who do you keep meeting, Tobirama-kun? Running after ghosts will not help you in the long run."

"I understand that," Tobirama frowned, placing down the tea. "I'm no longer thirsty," He stood up and left the tea room. However, he hesitated at the door and asked, "Are there any blonde hair and blue-eyed people in the Uzumaki clan?"

Mito swallowed thickly, seeing the small flame of hope in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Tobirama-kun." Flinching when his eyes grew cold and marched off. "Blonde hair and blue eyes, huh?"

Tobirama slammed his door shut and paced the length of his room. "Of course it would be too good to be true." Taking a deep breath, Tobirama rummaged through the floorboards and pulled out his diary. Writing or drawing had always cleared his head more than training ever did.

**Diary Entrance**

_I finally saw the idiot today. I will never get over how unpredictable she is, having completely bypassed Mito-san's seal that I used to keep her still. I did, however, manage to apologise to her and it appears she has no hard feelings. I'm glad to have my friend back. It appeared the same for her too, she was relaxed in my presence. It was as if we never had a fight. She is a forgiving and understanding person._

_Naruto is alive and well, that's all I could ask for. Ah, I tried to compliment her today and it didn't work out as planned. She shies away from then, almost awkward to a point. There's so much to write that I don't even know where to start. I was able to touch her today, momentarily. It takes a lot of concentration on my part and drains my energy. It was not as pleasing as I initially thought. Almost like touching a wet fish or a hard wall. My mind is racing but my body is tired after a long day. This is all that I will write for now but I will leave one last thought. I wonder if Naruto wishes to touch too. I do not mean to sound perverse but it is a struggle to comfort her or flick her head in certain situations. I have no idea what runs through her mind but I know that she is far smarter than she lets on. She will make a fine kunoichi._

**XXXX**

Naruto:

"Damn it you hard ass!" Naruto threw a pebble at Kakashi, the small stone thacking on his vest as he calmly read his orange book in front of her. "At least show some shame! How dare you seal off my chakra and throw me off a cliff?!"

"Maah maah, it builds character, Naru-chan," Kakashi said, looking over his book to see the blonde puffing out her cheeks in anger. She looked like an angry kitten with her glare barely affecting him. "I could've tied you up too."

"This is revenge isn't it?" Naruto hissed, "For not taking the genin exam this year. Well listen up, buddy, you and I have got another year before I take the exam and I ain't budging."

Kakashi was tempted to throw Naruto off the cliff again as he narrowed his eye at her. "We could be on B-rank missions right now, you little shit."

"Hey, it's not my fault you're trigger happy for dangerous missions. I'm doing you a favour by keeping you in check," Naruto rebutted. When they had first met, they were both broken and hurt but slowly, through the years together, were both able to mend each other to the point they could banter like old siblings. "Let me guess, you're in an even sour mood because Anko tried to feel you up again."

Kakashi felt his brow twitch. He couldn't stand the Snake Mistress and her 'attempts' to _woo_ him. It put him off more than anything else. "She was in my shower this morning. I have no idea how she broke into my apartment."

Naruto wanted to laugh but held back when she felt that he was weary and paranoid. The colours silver and burning purple. "Wanna stay at mine for a while? Jiji has banned her from stepping foot into my place after what happened the last time I pranked her." She giggled when the jonin immediately perked up and offered, "Wanna go to lunch?"

"Sure," Kakashi quipped and pulled his eyes towards his orange book. "There's a nice okonomiyaki restaurant not far from here. We can train afterwards if you're up for it."

They walked in comfortable silence to the restaurant with Kakashi glaring at the restaurant owner as they entered. Making sure they sat near the kitchen so he was in a position to watch the staff prepare their food. It had become his habit when he took Naruto under his wing. "How are you coming along with you ninjutsu."

Naruto sighed, "Eh it's alright, I'm still having trouble with the Katon jutsu you taught me."

Kakashi nodded as he started the grill. He'd let Naruto cook since her cooking always tasted better than his, even when they cooked with the same recipe and ingredients. "I wouldn't be surprised. Fire is your weaker element but it's good to at least know a few katon jutsu," He warned, handing her over the bowls of ingredients. "But don't neglect to work on your chakra control. Your reserves are always growing. I might even have to make a new chakra control exercise for you."

Naruto frowned, "Are you even up for that amount of hard work, Lazy-sensei"

Kakashi glowered at her comment, "Hey, I'm only lazy in the morning."

Naruto snorted and rolled her eyes, "You'll be saying that in ten, maybe fifty, years. You can't keep blaming the mornings."

"Until I can't, I'll keep using it." Kakashi flipped a page in the book when he realised, "That's right. So who is it?"

"Who's what?"

"Who are you dating? Shikamaru or Choji."

Naruto spluttered as her face turned red. "How many times do I have to tell you that they're just friends. I'm not interested in boys," She explained as she worked the savoury pancake.

"Oh?" Kakashi arched his brow, "This is a first. Girls?" He was teasing her but he enjoyed the way she would always stutter and turn red.

Naruto tossed the spatula at Kakashi. Only to have the man grab it out of the air and throw it back at her, "No, baka-sensei. I don't want to be in a relationship, period." She sighed seeing his curious and comforting look, "Why aren't you married with kids? You're old enough and way past your prime."

"Oi, I happen to still be in my prime," Kakashi rebutted, but understood where she was coming from. He simply wasn't interested in settling down, getting married, and having children of his own. Although not common, there were still kunoichi that didn't want to get into a relationship or have children. "Fair point though."

Feeling comfortable with her long time teacher, Naruto asked, "Ne, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hmm,"

"Have you ever had deep feelings for someone you can't be with?"

Kakashi placed down his book and looked over at the blonde. She held her gaze to the cooking food but one look at her posture told him that his answer was important to her. She wanted his honesty, just as she always did during their conversations. "I have," He admitted quietly, "It's not easy, Naruto. There have been times I've forced my image of them on another person and hurt that person deeply." He saw her frowned but he had to tell her. "It's a tough pill to swallow."

Naruto sighed, "Thanks, Kashi-baka," She plated a small portion for the Hatake. The man always had a small appetite but Naruto always made sure he ate something.

Kakashi eye smiled at the blonde, "Anytime, dumb blonde."

They both shared small smiles with one another before digging into their food.

**XXXX**

Tobirama:

Tobirama sighed, sitting in the middle of the small garden behind the main house. The meeting with his brother gave him a headache, as always. Hashirama was never one for politics and that's where he would come in. Yet, Tobirama knew that Hashirama was born to inspire and lead and Tobirama supported him fully. He planned to scold Hashirama once he got back from his walk with Mito. Hashirama had almost cost them their main supplier.

"What's got you in the wallows?"

Tobirama glanced up to see his cousin entering the gardens. They were the same age as she was just a head shorter than himself. Despite her classic beauty, she was quite the troublemaker and minx. With her long, straight black hair and large, dark brown eyes she was the epitome of Senju beauty. She was dressed in a blue kimono with a gold obi, fitting her lithe frame delicately but Tobirama knew not to let her appearance fool him. She was still a well-rounded kunoichi.

"Emi," Tobirama nodded in greeting, "It has been a while,"

"Oh come, don't change the subject now." Emi teased and sat down beside him. Although they weren't closely related, they were still cousins in a sense. "Hashirama being his usual self then or is it that you haven't gotten laid yet?" She chuckled when he glared at her in warning, "Oh come on, I'll be your ear. I've always been good at listening."

Tobirama snorted, "You've been good at spreading rumours," He noted the hungry glint in her eyes, keen for information. "And it was Hashirama that has been in the wallows, as you've put it."

Emi pouted, tucking a strand of her loose hair behind her ear, "Boo, that's no fun. You know you're at the age to get married. Hashirama was your age when he was betrothed to Mito-sama."

"After what happened with Lady Kara, I have no interest in getting married any time soon," Tobirama said coldly and it was true. That woman had put him off the very thought. "Also, those two have been madly in love long before their betrothal."

"I'm really getting nothing out of you," Emi sighed before perking up, "Okay then, how about this?" She said eagerly, holding up a single finger, "Who is your ideal woman?"

Tobirama folded his arms at the question, "This is getting ridiculous,"

"Humour me then. I'm bored," Emi pouted and shook her cousin in frustration.

"Fine." He snapped with the shaking stopping almost immediately, "I prefer a woman that is open about her feelings and not afraid to show them to me. Someone who doesn't get jealous when I'm working with other women and is independent yet knows when to rely on others. She will have to be a splendid kunoichi with a fiery will."

Emi considered his words and pointed out, "There aren't a lot of women like that. Once kunoichi gets married, they retire and have children. They know the basics and those that do make it onto the battlefield don't last long before hanging up the kunai."

Tobirama ran his fingers through his hair, "You're still a functioning kunoichi. Whatever happened to your boyfriend? Tanake?"

"Tamaki," Emi corrected as Tobirama stood. She joined him, "And I dumped him a long time ago. We only knew each other for a week before he started spouting nonsense like getting married as soon as possible. I couldn't handle such an open and clingy man. The quiet and serious ones are more my type," She shrugged.

"Right, well good luck in your hunting. I'm going to train," Tobirama nodded and swiftly ditched his cousin. Hanging around her for too long gave him a headache. His ears picked up his cousin's light footsteps and paused, glancing over his shoulder at the grinning woman, "Do you need something?"

Emi just smiled, "Let's hang out,"

Tobirama frowned, "No," He declined and continued on his walk. However, he could still hear her following him and withheld his sigh. The white-haired Senju opted to walk faster, knowing how difficult it was to move in a kimono. He could hear her pacing picking up but she wasn't able to keep up with his long strides. As soon as he passed the gates, Tobirama sped off and far away from the clan. He didn't need others interfering in his training and he wanted to work with the seal he was given by Naruto.

Heading towards the clearing, Tobirama got started and warmed up his body. Running laps on the river, building up a light sweat and maintaining his chakra control. He spent a good thirty minutes warming up before he started practicing his kata, never moving from the river. He felt his blood pumping as a light sheen of sweat gathered on his face. It felt calming. With each new position, he gathered chakra through his body and made the river move with him. Making small spouts of water rise and fall with each swift move. His control with suiton was getting better and better by the day that even Hashirama had praised him.

"Oh very nice,"

Tobirama tensed as he heard clapping behind him and turned to see the blonde girl sitting on a large rock watching him. She had surprised him. How long had she been watching? "Naruto? What are you doing here?" He questioned, seeing that it was rare for her to be here when the sun was up. The time she did come was when...Tobirama frowned, "Are you in the hospital again? Who hurt you this time?" He marched over to the girl with worry. Though his face didn't show it, he knew that she could feel his rolling emotions. When he reached the rock, he looked up at her to see her beaming down at him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm just meditating and I found myself here." Naruto quipped and leapt off the rock to join Tobirama down below. She knew her appearance was roughed up but that was because of the training Kakashi always put her through. "Just before, I had to climb up a rock face without chakra while Kakashi-sensei kept throwing kunai at me. You're really good with suiton, dattebayo. I wanna be as good as you but with fuuton."

Tobirama shuffled on his feet. The visit was unexpected but wanted. "I was training," He commented before returning to the river to finish his kata. It would do him no good to just chat and waste an entire day doing nothing. There was still a war going on after all. "How is training for you?"

"Really good but soon it's going to be troublesome," Naruto scrunched up her nose as she watched Tobirama train. "I have a year before we're being placed in teams. I just hope I'm on a decent team. I'd go crazy if I was on a team with Sasuke-teme. You remember me talking about him right?" She saw Tobirama nod before she continued, "I tried being his friend, dattebayo, but he's such a dick–" she didn't see Tobirama faltered in his movements as she ranted, "–but there are times he does talk to me since I'm not like his fangirls. He's just lonely and angry, I know that much but I can't claim that I understand what he's going through. Oh my god, his fangirls are so annoying. Just thinking about them makes me remember their screaming. Do you have anyone annoying? You can rant to me, dattebayo, since I do it all the time."

"I need to train, Naruto, but I don't mind listening to you." He heard her snort as he moved onto working on his hand sign speed. "Very well. My idiot brother almost cost the clan our main supplier of food and goods. He called his daughter a 'cow with no manners' when the merchant offered her as a potential bride for me." He heard Naruto giggling and looked over to her. Her eyes were sparkling as he spoke, absorbing all he had to say. "I quickly had to fix that mess and declined the marriage proposal anyway. I also have a bad feeling about my cousin–"

"Emi-chan?"

Tobirama nodded, "–She has been visiting a lot lately. Mostly to get information out of my brother and I so she can gossip with other women. The whole village is a big gossip centre."

"Every village is a gossip centre," Naruto said dryly, watching as he released the same water jutsu over and over again. Her eyes picked up how each succession of jutsu, his hand signs became faster or he would drop a hand sign. To her it was incredible and where she picked up to master her wind jutsu like Tobirama did for suiton. "There's a rumour going around in my village that I'm some sort of succubus that has Kakashi-sensei under a spell. He's a lazy dude but apparently he's a seasoned shinobi."

"I find it quite humorous that you're quite close to adults than people your own age," He pointed out and saw the deep blush on her face, "Did I say something?"

"I-it's not t-that I can't make f-friends my age," Naruto stuttered, clenching her fists in embarrassment, "They're just a-annoying. They're all mean or fangirls!"

Tobirama arched his brow, "Surely they're not all mean," He had his fair share of fangirls and didn't bother to dispute them.

Naruto looked away with a pout, "No, I've just been around those older than me so I'm used to talking to them more than people my age. Besides, they all think I'm an idiot and make fun of me." She tugged on her ponytail nervously, looking at the bright blonde colour and winced.

Tobirama saw all of her movements and sighed, "Then they're idiots. You're a good person. Loud and angry but you're a good person." He approached the upset girl and flicked her forehead with a chakra laced finger. Gaining her weak glare and pouty lips, "Don't surround yourself with people you hide from, baka. Find people you're comfortable with and stick with them."

Naruto eyed Tobirama as he knelt before her. There was kindness in his stoic gaze that made her heart leap. Looking down, Naruto confessed, "Sometimes the girls in class would get really mean to me when I would talk to Sasuke. I just wanna be the bastard's friends but they all yell at me and call me out saying that I'm trying to get precious Sasuke-kun all to myself," She said bitterly, feeling her eyes sting. No matter how much stronger she got, she was still a crybaby. Getting stronger physically, mentally, and spiritually didn't change the fact that she was able to get hurt with harsh words. "They kept calling me ugly and gross and that's why I have no parents. That they left me 'cause I was such an ugly baby and why there are no blondes like me in the village! Girls are so mean, Tobi-chama~"

Tobirama watched as she cried, letting her heart out. He had his suspicions about her family but this all confirmed that she was an orphan. Almost ten years knowing her and this was new information to him. If what they were saying was a constant in her life then it would affect her confidence. Tobirama knew first hand that the blonde was filled with confidence but nobody was 100% confident in who they are, and for Naruto, it was her appearance. "They're all idiots," He started, as Naruto looked to him through wet lashes, "Out of all the females that I have seen you are by far the most beautiful of them all and you will continue to grow even more beautiful. More so than those vile women who put you down. Ugly souls have ugly faces. Besides, any decent person with half a brain would know that you like talking to people."

"You mean it?" Naruto asked, visibly cheering up when the white-haired teen nodded. "You're so cool, Tobi-chama,"

Tobirama's eyes widened a fraction.

"Y'know," Naruto wiped away the last of her tears as she leaned forward, their noses almost touching. She had a large grin on her face as she admitted, "If I ever met you in person, I would probably fall in love with you, dattebayo."

Tobirama used a hand to cover the lower half of his face as he looked away, "Idiot," He muttered, though she couldn't hear him as she started to fade away from his sight. Falling to his bottom, Tobirama took a deep breath and moved his hand to his eyes, revealing the light blush on his cheeks.

**XXXX**

Naruto:

Naruto opened her eyes with Kakashi's hand on her shoulder as he shook her back to consciousness.

"Naruto?" Kakashi asked softly, seeing the tears start to dry on her cheeks. "Is everything okay?"

The blonde looked up to her sensei and asked, "Ne Kakashi-sensei, am I ugly?" She saw the man freeze before his eye scanned her face seriously. It made her squirm and flush under the intensity.

"Nope," Kakashi said cheerfully, "But don't let it get to your head and be shallow," He laughed when she screwed up her face, "What made you ask that?"

Naruto rubbed her nose in embarrassment, "I was told that I was quite a lot in school."

Kakashi frowned and sat down next to the girl. "Maah maah I'm not one for comforting people but they say those that bully people do it because that person has a certain quality that they're jealous of and want for themselves."

"Who says that?" Naruto asked curiously and paled when she recognised the glint in his eye.

Kakashi whipped out a purple book and proclaimed, "Icha Icha academy addition. A heated love between the most popular boy in school and a loner nerd, meeting between the aisle of the library to drown each other in their passionate love."

Naruto snorted before full on laughing. "You're such a weirdo, Kashi-baka."

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and offered the book to Naruto. Hiding his smile when she took it instead of ripping it up like other women tended to do, "Ignoring all the smut it has a good underlying message, dumb blonde. Get some rest and I'll see you bright and early tomorrow." He laughed awkwardly at her blank stare, "I'll be there before 10, no later."

Naruto's lips twitched up in a small smile, "Okay, I'll hold you to your word."

Kakashi shook his head as he ruffled her hair. The things he did for his cute student.


	4. Chapter 4

**A love in time 04**

Naruto laughed when Kakashi fell over. "You're so dramatic, Kakashi-sensei,"

Kakashi pointed at her frightfully, "Y-your h-hair!" He gasped at how brilliant it shined. "What happened to your hair? Hokage-sama is going to kill me!" He panicked as the short strands cupped her chin playfully.

"Oh stop it," Naruto pouted, "I asked the Madame to cut my hair and she's teaching me how to take care of it. It'll grow back," She shrugged, "It's just hair."

Kakashi sighed, picking himself up off the ground. "You know how I feel about you visiting that woman," He ignored her glare and ruffled her new hairdo, "But I must admit you look super cute,"

Naruto pushed his hand away, "That sounds sarcastic,"

"It's not~" Kakashi sung, dodging her well-aimed kick and tutted, "Now now, Naru-chan is that any way to treat your beloved sensei who set up a mock battle for you?"

Naruto was prepared to lunge again when Kakashi's words registered, "Mock battle?" She narrowed her gaze as her gut churned, "You made a bet, didn't you?"

"Not a bet, per se," Kakashi admitted, "I just happened to brag a little too much about my cute student. That she's capable of taking down a full-fledged genin team...or am I wrong?"

"Shit," Naruto clicked her tongue, trying to get mad at Kakashi for setting her up but she couldn't stop the way her heart raced at the opportunity. "I blame you for turning me into his battle junkie, Kakashi-sensei," She had faced him on numerous occasions when he would attack her at all hours of the day. Naruto admitted that she always lost in those battles but her awareness was getting better. "When I win?"

Kakashi enjoyed her enthusiasm and leaned down, "I'll teach you how to erase your presence," He saw she wasn't impressed and tacked on, "Completely,"

Naruto gasped as Kakashi disappeared. She stretched her senses out and looked around nervously. "Ahh!" Naruto cried out in pain as she was suddenly thrown to her side and rolled around in the dirt. Grabbing her side, she looked up as Kakashi appeared in front of her with an arched brow. Despite the pain, she grinned madly at him. "I'll win no matter what, dattebayo," The idea of completely erasing her presence sounded like a dangerous skill to have and Naruto was more than happy to pull all the stops to obtain it.

Kakashi nodded. He just hoped that when he died Minato wouldn't kill him once more for turning his daughter into such a scary shinobi. "The battle starts in an hour,"

Naruto cursed, "Damn it, Kakashi-sensei," She was quick to unseal a scroll on her body and pull out a paper slip. Sticking it to the forming bruise, Naruto activated the seal and slowly healed herself.

Kakashi watched as she worked with her seals. He was always surprised whenever she whipped something out and knew this side of her came from her mother. "You made something weird again," He squatted down next to her and watched as the bruise faded. Once she removed the seal, he poked her skin to make sure it was heal and was surprised when she giggled. "Maah maah, the people are really lucky to have you, Naruto,"

"Someone has to look out for the little people," Naruto boasted as she packed up her items. "Do I have time to plan?"

Kakashi gave her a pointed look, "Trust me, you won't need a plan against these genin. Use everything I taught you and follow your gut," He shivered when a feral grin appeared on her face. "If it helps, the mock battle will be at training ground 5. The team is close quarter specialists and one of them has the byakugan." He knocked her head when she chuckled deviously, "Don't get too cocky just because you know the land. They've had a year to work together and know each other's movements. Most importantly, this is a mock battle so–"

"Aim to kill," Naruto replied earnestly.

"–aim to kill," Kakashi nodded wisely.

**Tobirama:**

Holding his breath, Tobirama strained his ears as he heard Emi running past his position. "What has gotten into her?" He muttered, pressing his back into the wall as he heard her calling his name. He spotted the wall in the distance and although it was a rule not to climb the wall, he was sorely tempted to. Glancing around the wall, he spotted Emi chatting to a group of young women and took this as his opportunity to escape.

"Tobirama!"

The white-haired Senju ignored her call as he ran for it. There was no way for her to catch up to him. Even if she was in her shinobi gear. He was the fastest in the clan, just behind his brother, and made a mad dash towards the main gates. Not bothering to sign out, Tobirama pressed past the guards and suppressed his chakra. There was no point in escaping Emi if she just tracked down his chakra.

Tobirama didn't stop moving until he reached his hidden oasis and sighed in relief. "Honestly," He grumbled to himself and looked around the hidden clearing. Spotting the pile of wood, he moved over to the building equipment and grabbed an axe.

It was his latest past-time whenever he was free. Building the modest cabin in the secret space only his blonde friend knew of. Lumbering at the thick wood brought him instant relief than fishing did and his brother never disturbed him here. His own place to call his own.

It had been a year since he started building the cabin and he still had a long way to go. "Heh, a retirement plan," He shook his head at the ridiculousness of it. Retiring from being a shinobi. "Only a fool would retire at this time," He thought back to Naruto's comments about peace in her village. Tobirama could see himself retiring in her village. Growing old as his grandchildren's footsteps sounded around the home he built. "A foolish dream," He kept his desire deep inside his heart. It was a luxury many of his comrades shared but no one dared to speak about it out loud. It only brought melancholy. Only those who were lucky enough to live in the merchant towns were allowed that luxury.

Slamming his axe into the stub, he wiped away the accumulated sweat and looked up at the sky. "A dream," He mused, wondering what Naruto's dream was. It was times like these when he thought about her wellbeing. There was no solid way to predict when she would arrive. "She's a smart woman," Taking a seat under the tree, he thought about their positions. He judged her to be more innovative than Mito when it came to seals. She wasn't afraid to explore the art and push its boundaries.

He looked over at the foundation of his cottage. Tobirama wasn't entirely sure why he was building it. He was fine using this spot as a place to relax and it was too isolating to live here permanently. It was picturesque. War had never touched this place and probably won't ever.

No, shaking his head, Tobirama knew why he was building this place. He knew why he chose to build this cabin in such an isolated haven and it was based purely on his selfishness to monopolise Naruto if she ever appeared in front of him. "I must be going mad," Yet it wasn't far from the truth. She was his first friend that he could confide in openly. Someone that wasn't his brother and Tobirama didn't want to share her. The look she gave his brother when she saw him, Tobirama wanted to wash it away and make her look at him.

Tobirama knew his brother was special. He was more than fit to lead the clan. Hashirama was different. His kind heart got him in trouble but no matter how much blood was shed, Hashirama always smiled. He was a good man...but...Tobirama didn't want to give her to him. She was his friend first.

"I must be going mad," He repeated again with a small smile.

He stiffened when he heard rusting near the entrance of the cave and got up quickly. He knew this chakra and grew furious as she grinned at him playfully. "What are you doing here?" He yelled, making Emi's smile drop before she plastered it back on.

"Oh come on, cousin, don't you know how long I've been looking for you?" Emi teased, tensing when his anger washed over her. "Tobi?"

"Who gave you permission to call me that?" He growled, marching over to her, "Get out! Get out and never return! Wash your mind of this place and leave!" He roared at her, pushing her back out of the entrance. "Don't ever come here again!" Once he got rid of her, he summoned a wall of water to prevent her from entering again. He was fuming. He hadn't let his chakra slip at all. How did she find him?

"Tobi?"

"What?!" He roared, turning on his heels and paused at the sight of the worried blonde, "Naruto?" His mind stuttered, he wasn't expecting her. She always turned up when he least expected it.

"Are you okay, Tobi?" Naruto approached him slowly. Although she knew they couldn't touch it was more of a formality she learnt growing up in the red-light district. He was still silent. Looking behind him, Naruto saw the wall of water and distorted image of a woman on the other side. "Give me your hand,"

"We can't touch," Tobirama finally spoke up but went silent once again at her determined look. Holding out his hand, he felt the warmth of her chakra envelope his hand when her hand hovered over his.

"Channel chakra to your finger and copy my movements precisely," Naruto said firmly, "If you don't, then this wall will explode."

Tobirama nodded, focusing on her movements. It was an odd sensation. They weren't touching per se, yet they were still able to help each other. "What brought you here?"

"Y'know a hello would be nice," Naruto teased as she took her time drawing the seal. She knew it was his way of worrying about her. "I just wiped the floor against a junior shinobi team on my own. Kakashi-sensei, the sadistic bastard, didn't even give me a second before beating a new technique into me,"

"He sounds very hands-on,"

"It's what I prefer," Naruto shrugged as she guided his hand to make the intricate curves, "Is that Emi-chan?" She asked, seeing the distorted woman bang on the wall of water. Naruto heard Tobirama click his tongue and commented, "You have a fangirl, so what?"

"A stalker is a better term for her. Her persistence was admirable at first and I could ignore her lingering gaze...but this is too far." Tobirama heard her hum as she listened to his rant. "I haven't been able to sleep soundly for a fortnight now. I've caught her on multiple occasions trying to sneak into my room or coincidentally walking past the bathhouse as I am bathing. It is only a matter of time before I raise my hand against her,"

Naruto motioned for him to activate the seal and watched as the water hid the entrance and made Emi's figure disappear. Turning to face him, Naruto's mind raced at all the politics that she was forced to study by the Elder Council. It was their form of torture whenever they caught her taking up the Hokage's time. Koharu and the Madame had taught her about the dangers of women. "I'm worried about you," Naruto admitted, "Not only are you fighting on the battlefield but also the battlefield at home...home is where you're supposed to feel safe,"

"Safe," Tobirama repeated her word, "My position within the clan does not allow me such luxuries," Tobirama frowned when she looked pained, "What is it?"

"No, it's just…" Naruto looked away guiltily, "I always thought you rich people had it good. It's hard to watch your back at home, isn't it? Always on guard, light sleeps and constant anxiety of being attacked. I know that feeling well."

Tobirama clenched his fists. "I cannot give you words of comfort,"

"I would get upset if you did," Naruto replied and decided to change the topic, "About the seal, it will only allow you to enter through. If anyone follows you again and tries to enter, they will just turn around and walk back out no matter what. You can use the key here to allow someone to enter or to enter when you aren't here," She pointed to the swirl that was etched onto the apparently hard surface but the surface was just an illusion for the entrance.

Tobirama didn't hesitate, "Key in your chakra," He ordered.

"Excuse me?" Naruto was stunned.

"You can still use chakra in that form. Key in your chakra." Tobirama folded his arms and acted indifferently, "Feel free to use this space should you ever pass through the Fire Country,"

Naruto was flabbergasted, "I can't just walk into your space. You blew a fuse when Emi-chan entered,"

A vein appeared on his neck, "You are not a stalker despite your wandering tendencies. I want you to do it," He saw her hesitate and added, "Please, Naruto. We're in the middle of a war and if, by chance, you come this way I want you to be able to go somewhere safe,"

"Urgh your mouth is going to get you into so much trouble when you're older," Naruto threw her hands in the air before showing him how to key in her chakra signature into the seal.

It was only now that Tobirama noticed her hair, "You cut your hair," She looked at him in annoyance, walking past him and into the open area. He spotted a few bruises poking out from under her odd clothing and the limp she walked with. Tobirama followed behind her slowly as she looked around curiously. The small frown on her brow told him that she had something to say to him. There were times he would wait for her to speak when she was ready but his gut was telling him to speak up this time. "You have something to say to me,"

Naruto clenched her fists, "You're my first friend, y'know,"

"I'm well aware,"

"You're one of my precious people yet I can't protect you,"

"I admit the distance doesn't help,"

"Tobi!" Naruto snapped, whirling at him furiously, "I'm not joking around! I don't know when I'll see you and I can't help you at all in this stupid body. Every time I come here I'm worried I'll find you half dead in the middle of a battlefield and I can't heal you. What's the point of me making all these seals if I can't use them to help a friend? I couldn't even help Itachi-sensei!"

Tobirama approached her as she started crying. She was in pain. "And what about you? My concerns about your safety are valid." She looked up at him through her teary eyes. "I will not be gentle with you, Naruto, you know me. Sooner or later, you will find me on the battlefield. Sooner or later, you will appear before with wounds so deep that all I will be able to do is watch you. It is the burden we choose to carry or do you wish to forget about this pain?"

"No!" Naruto lashed out to grab him but tripped up through him and landed in a heap. "I don't ever want to forget my first friend. Even when you called me a ghost," She saw him squat down next to her and rolled onto her back. "I just want to protect my best friend,"

Tobirama sat beside her and offered, "We can teach each other ways to survive,"

"Teach each other what exactly?" Naruto sniffed and sat up.

"The seal you made. You can educate me on the matter and I can educate you regarding chakra control, ninjutsu and if you wish, how to wield a sword,"

Wiping away her tears, Naruto asked, "Isn't this favouring me too much? I've been taught politics and how to act with decorum." Sitting on her knees gracefully, she folded her hands neatly and offered Tobirama a soft smile that caught him off guard, "I will aid you in every manner to battle the enemies that wish you harm in the court. I know more than just pretty words, Tobi-dono, I have the ability to guide you to bury your enemies so they can never stand. Manners will get you far, however, the pace of your speech, tone of your voice and the subtle touch of your words will be your greatest weapon."

"Who taught you to behave this way?" Tobirama felt off. Seeing her act differently was wrong. Naruto wasn't meant to be confined. His spine shivered when he saw her devious smile. It reminded him of a predator in waiting.

"I want to be the leader of my village and have everyone acknowledge me." Naruto replied, "The time I spent with Ji-chan, I learnt that the people around him are far scarier than the shinobi who cut me down."

"I won't forgive you if you get consumed in the world of politics," He threatened, folding his arms when she giggled at him.

"I won't forgive you if you let Emi-chan win," Naruto quipped.

"Tch, as if I would lose to that fool," He frowned as she started to disappear, "Then we agree to teach each other to survive,"

"Believe it," Naruto nodded as the stoic face of Tobirama morphed into the concerned face of her sensei. Naruto was instantly bitter, "You piece of shit," She hissed.

"Maah maah, you're alive. Thank goodness," Kakashi faked a sigh of relief as he manoeuvred Naruto onto his back. "I thought I was a dead man for a minute,"

"How are you even allowed to teach?" Naruto grumbled as her numb arms bounced over his shoulders. "I swear this is more of a punishment for me than for you,"

"You're so cold to me, Naru-chan," Kakashi whined as they headed towards her apartment. "You used to be so cute when you'd cling to me~"

Naruto felt her brow twitch. "I can't wait for the team to be complete and the other two face your sadistic tendencies." She heard Kakashi chuckle and rested her cheek on his back, "I don't want to be alone," She whispered, burying her head into him.

Kakashi hummed in understanding. Entering her apartment, Kakashi activated her seals and sat her down on the couch. "How is your back?" He said quietly as he grabbed the first aid kit. Returning to her side, he withheld his rising anger as she showed him the healing gash on her back. Although he made sure not to hit her back, Kakashi also didn't hold back his punches and wound her pride as a kunoichi. "Does it still hurt?" He asked, changing the bandages on her back.

"Not anymore," She hissed when the cool antiseptic touched her back. Once she was bandaged up, Naruto put her shirt back on as Kakashi cleaned up the mess. "When is your next mission?"

"Hmm, I'm free until the genin exams." Kakashi returned to the couch and laid down. Throwing his legs on top of Naruto as she squealed at being attacked by his long limbs. "Two weeks to go, kiddo,"

Naruto's heart raced. She would be a genin soon and do real missions with Kakashi. "I hope they're nice,"

"I doubt it," Kakashi snorted, "There seems to always be arguments and competition when new groups are formed." He heard her grumble and watched as she picked at the hem of his pants. "It's going to be hard on you, Naruto. You are far ahead of them. You know the way of the shinobi."

Naruto glanced at Kakashi. He was looking at her kindly and looked away, "Does it ever go away?"

"Honestly," Kakashi hummed, "It doesn't. Some shinobi are unfortunate to remember all their kills. Many only remember their first or the one that weighs the heaviest on their heart. Some shinobi are lucky enough to have never killed. It's very rare but there are a few I know. One of them was recently promoted to jounin,"

Naruto gasped, "How the hell is that allowed?!"

"It wasn't my decision but I did voice my complaint," Kakashi sighed, "She passed the jounin test and the psyche test. The Hokage couldn't turn her promotion down despite never killing anyone."

"Torture?"

"I've read her mission history. I believe she's only tortured people on two separate occasions with genjutsu," Kakashi noted Naruto's disbelief, "It's a rare occasion but it happens. I know what you're thinking but don't go picking a fight with her. She specialises in genjutsu and you still suck at it."

"Boo~" Naruto pouted. The temptation was there but Kakashi always had her best interest at heart. "If I asked nicely, can you recommend me to someone that knows about medicinal and poisonous plants?"

"Now why do you want to learn about that? You'll have to lean this on your own time, Naruto, and I'm no help in that area,"

"I know, I just want to know my options."

"I'll ask around but don't get your hopes up," He warned her. There was still prejudice surrounding her that the only ones willing to heal her when she got hurt were the women in the brothel house or himself before she showed him her medical seals. "Once you're a genin you'll have access to the shinobi portion of the library. The librarian can't turn you away either,"

"Thanks, Kashi-baka," Naruto took his warnings to heart. He was one of the very few she trusted completely.

Kakashi rolled his eyes, "Yeah yeah. Lemme sleep on your bed today as thanks."

"?!"

**XXXX**

"**You want me to what?"** The Kyuubi stared down at his future host.

"I want you to teach me to recognise medicinal herbs from poisonous herbs. No one will teach me in my time and the Kurama sealed within me doesn't remember the herbs in this region," Naruto replied, sitting politely before the fox. She waited as he morphed into his human form yet the beast didn't hide his ears and tails.

"You can't even touch them," Kurama sneered, "And you want me to teach you how to not only identify them but also how to use them. What a ridiculous request. You should be coming to me for power,"

"This is power," Naruto stressed, "I could save so many people by learning about this,"

"Or you could kill those who have wronged you," Kurama put the blonde in her place. "Do not lie to me, child. Why do you want to learn? Is it for that insect that has your heart going soft? You will not survive long in the past." He warned her brutally as she flinched. "You are better off forgetting him and staying here until the Gods are ready for your interference."

"...I don't want to forget him," She whispered, tugging on the ends of her jacket, "He saved me,"

"He cannot even touch you,"

"He saved me from my loneliness," the bitterness slipped out of her mouth, "The old man can't always help me and I was always alone when Itachi-sensei left me. Tobi saved me and I want to repay the kindness he showed me when no one else was kind to me,"

"A noble yet foolish notion," Kurama snorted, "This seal is my own creation. You will only be permitted to use it with my express permission - not that you would be able to use this seal on your own anyway. You don't possess enough chakra to maintain this." He pulled out a rolled parchment from his sleeve and showed her his seal. Naruto's eyes were quick to focus and examine the seal in interest. "I will be your anchor to this time. Once we have perfected the activation of this seal, I will teach you about those precious weeds of yours. However, should you betray my worldly kindness and use the anchor to see that man then I will destroy this seal and you will remain but a ghost in this time,"

Naruto trembled at the sight of the seal. It was far beyond her comprehension and she doubted she could ever recreate or even break it down and understand the seal. A seal from a higher being. "This….this is incredible."

Kurama rummaged through the old storage boxes and found a few brushes, "Take your shirt off," He ordered, grabbing a vial before seeing the blonde grumble as she followed his orders. He frowned when he spotted bindings and wanted to wallop her head if he could touch her, "Fool, you will only cause stress to your body with those. Get rid of them,"

"B-but!"

"Get rid of them!" Kurama barked, sitting behind her as she reluctantly unbound her chest. "Since you're a chakra form this seal will hurt from beginning to end. However, only I will be able to activate the seal and I can freely deactivate or strip you of the seal whenever I wish."

The fox sealed within Naruto buried his head in his paws. He remembered this day clearly. Naruto had stubbornly fought through the pain with tears in her eyes and her throat rubbed raw from her screaming. Kyuubi sealed his eyes tightly as soon as he heard her screams. It was going to be a long night.

"Ahhhh!" Naruto's scream was shattering if anybody else heard. This was far more painful than the time she was a child and had hot iron dragged across her feet. It was so much worse. An indescribable pain that made her entire body scream for it to stop. She could feel each individual bristle as it carved into her back.

Kurama didn't stop or hesitate. He couldn't even use his tails to pin her in place and had to work against her writhing body. The pain was a mere price to achieve the impossible. "Endure it, child,"

"It fucking hurts!" She cursed, wondering why the pain hasn't woken her up in her time. Naruto swore she could hear Kakashi calling out to her but his voice was so faint...so far away. She couldn't focus on the familiarity as her body demanded attention.

"Hold her down!" Kakashi barked an order to the nurses as they took a limb each. He watched his student thrash around in pain as she screamed her lungs out but she refused to wake up. "_A genjutsu? No, there's no traces. What's going on?"_ Kakashi worked fast to tie her limbs to the bed before securing her hips to the bed. She was still fighting against the bindings and no doubt her voice had woken a majority of the hospital.

"The anaesthetics aren't working," The doctor informed, "She's burning off the pain relief faster than we can administer them. All we can offer is to stabilize her in one-hour rotations until she comes to,"

"Is that all we can do?" Kakashi hissed, watching as even stabilizing her condition was doing very little for her.

"If we give her any more pain relief, we run the risk of killing her," The doctor warned, she placed a comforting hand on Kakashi's tense shoulder and said gently, "I've known her since she was a baby, Kakashi. We will do everything we can to reduce the stress on her body and believe in her. She's always been strong,"

"_But for how long?"_ Kakashi wanted to ask. There were so many times he had seen her on the verge of never returning yet she always bounced back mysteriously. In all honesty, Kakashi didn't expect her to be as cheerful as she is after Itachi's betrayal. She kept her deep wounds hidden. Kakashi knew he was a hypocrite. He wanted Naruto to rely on him and tell him all her problems yet he wouldn't be able to do the same. "May I stay with her?"

"Of course, no one would dare to remove you. I must inform the Hokage," The doctor left after throwing a worried gaze at the wild blonde.

"_Fight it," _Kakashi begged, clenching his fists tightly. "_Fight it, Naruto. Fight it so we can go home together,"_ The thought of returning to her apartment without her made Kakashi's heart clench and his throat tighten. "_Please fight it, Naruto. You're all I have left,"_ He pleaded, he couldn't lose her. It would ruin him. She was his remaining family and brought joy back into his life more than his friends ever could.

**Tobirama:**

Tobirama found his brother hiding in a tall tree and quickly ran up the tree to join him, "Ani-chan,"

Hashirama wasn't surprised that his brother sought him out, "You found me quick,"

"I could find you a continent away, ani-chan," Tobirama scoffed, sitting on a branch just below his sibling, "Send me out on a mission, ani-chan. Preferably a long one,"

"Running away isn't going to solve your problems at home. It will only delay them," Hashirama didn't want to scold Tobirama but it was necessary. "I will admit, Emi has been stepping out of line but if you don't resolve this it will cause a fuss in the village. Even Mito has voiced her concerns about Emi's attempts to gain your favour."

"It is sickening," Tobirama replied, "I'm on my last rope, brother."

"Then why not find a nice woman to settle down with. You're at that age,"

"My priority is making sure you don't ruin the village with your mouth," Tobirama ignored when Hashirama started pouting. "I have no other goals besides helping you to achieve your dreams,"

"That's not a dream, Tobi," Hashirama rolled his eyes, overlooking the vast forest that stretched across the Fire Country.

"My dream is just a fantasy, ani-chan. A merchant's dream,"

"Ahh," Hashirama hummed, understanding what he meant. "I do not wish to see you take part in the world alone, Tobi."

"Brother," The younger warned, "I only need you,"

Hashirama chuckled, "And what will you do once I'm gone, little brother? I won't force you, Tobirama, but when you're ready to introduce her to me. I want to meet the one who's made you smile from the bottom of your heart,"

Tobirama kept silent. Hashirama was a hopeless romantic. "A month from now, when the dirt has settled, I will destroy Emi. When the time comes, I would like for you to remain neutral,"

Hashirama glanced over his shoulder. The cold look in Tobirama's eyes made the flesh on his skin rise. It was times like this that made Hashirama wonder if his little brother had what it takes to love another romantically. Tobirama was the epitome being emotionally unavailable. No matter how beautiful, their family standing, wealth, decorum or patience the woman has, they could never gain Tobirama's gaze. Many pursued him relentlessly. Others gave up early after a harsh warning. Then, there were women like Emi who hid their devious intentions behind the mask of friendship that Tobirama refused to make acquaintances outside of his family and Hashirama's aids. "Will you be happy after you go through with this?"

"I will be a fraction safer,"

"Safer, huh." Hashirama hummed, "The war will end soon,"

"How are you so sure?"

"A gut feeling,"

"Ani-chan," Tobirama sighed as Hashirama just laughed.

"Come, let us stretch out limbs. We've been in far too many meetings this past week,"

Before Tobirama could stop him, Hashirama had already launched himself from the tree with a joyous yell. Silently, Tobirama dropped from the tree and quickly propelled his body away from the trunk as he felt a shift in the air. He looked back and saw the distorted tree and frowned, "Never the patient type, ani-chan,"

"Not when it comes to spars with you," Hashirama laughed, "I won't give you a second to think, Tobi. Come," He gestured haughtily, making Tobirama roll his eyes before engaging in battle. Hashirama traded blows with his brother, seeing the spark ignite in his eyes. "Oh how scary~" He teased, seeing the battle loving man come to the surface. It was an odd sight to see from the man that calculated his every move.

"It is better than the disgusting look on your face," Tobirama muttered tonelessly. Hashirama always had that teasing smirk on his face whenever they fought. It was the look of someone that knew everything but Tobirama knew better than anyone that his brother's mind was empty. "One day I will wipe it off your face,"

"Why not today, dear brother?" Hashirama blocked Tobirama's kick. A wide grin etched on his face as the earth beneath them shattered. Tobirama's prowess was growing every day. "Your training has paid off,"

"I'm not a fool to believe I could ever defeat you," Tobirama felt his heart swell when his brother gave him a look of acknowledgement. "However, today I will beat you black and blue as compensation."

Hashirama could only laugh, "I look forward to your growth," He had confidence in his brother's growth as a shinobi but as a man, Hashirama had his doubts. For now, Hashirama would honour his brother and not hold back in their battle. "I know you won't disappoint me,"

"Never," Tobirama replied earnestly. He would take this opportunity to heart. It wasn't often that they could spar against one another.

Just as they were to exchange more blows, the two brothers froze as a sudden burst of chakra was felt before it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Hashirama glanced over to Tobirama who seemed just as confused and asked him, "Anyone familiar?"

"No," Tobirama answered, "It is too sloppy for a trap. Even our enemies would've felt that chakra burst too,"

"It came from the temple,"

"What temple?"

Hashirama nodded and the two of them took off towards the location of the chakra burst. No doubt, other clans would search out the abnormality or stay clear of it.

"It's an old temple that worships a forgotten god." Hashirama explained, "I heard about it from a friend,"

Tobirama didn't comment on who the friend was. He already knew and held his tongue due to the tense look on Hashirama's face. "Abandoned then?"

"That is supposed to be the case," Hashirama pushed his pace. "To feel it from this distance, whatever the chakra source is must be bountiful. It could also be dangerous."

"Should I go find Mito-nee-san?"

"No," Hashirama read Tobirama's meaning, "I should be enough to seal the chakra source away. For now, we investigate. I'm going to pick up the pace. We should reach the temple in an hour and hopefully, we make it there first."

"I will follow you anywhere, ani-chan," Tobirama said firmly. When the chakra burst, Tobirama felt overwhelmed for a split second. The chakra was warm yet it harboured great animosity that it could hold an untrained man still. As one of the greater clans, it was their responsibility to keep the general population safe. It was his job yet there was something about that chakra burst that felt odd. It felt...almost out of place. Glancing at his brother's tense face, Tobirama kept his concerns to himself.


	5. Chapter 5

**A love in time 005**

Kurama reached out slowly, cupping the feverish cheek of the blonde girl and let out a small sigh of relief. Her soul had somehow survived being bound to his own. "Stupid child, you only need to save yourself. Not the world," He was surprised when her eyes opened. She foolishly gave him a victorious grin as she pressed her face further into his hand. "I will not be lenient,"

"Heh," Naruto took deep breaths. Her chest ached with each breath. "I can hear Kakashi-sensei calling me. How do I go back?" She could hear her teacher's painful pleas for her to open her eyes. She had worried him for too long.

"I will cut our connection. Each time you return to the past and are by my side, I will activate the seal." Kurama brushed her bangs to the side gently. His long nails combing at the strands, "I expect you to be beside me during your next visit,"

"Believe it," Naruto felt her body fall through a shift and within a blink of her eye she found Kakashi clinging onto her hand, "Sensei," She called out to him hoarse, giving him a tired smile, "You look like shit,"

Kurama waited until her body disappeared before hiding his ears and tails. It was only a matter of time before keen chakra sensors came to the temple. Tucking his hands into his sleeves, Kurama left the temple and stood at the edge of the lot. He could feel strong chakra signatures closing in but it would still take a while for them to appear before him. "Tch, it would be easier to kill them," He grumbled but decided against it. It would only attract their litter and cause more work for him to get rid of the pests. The image of Naruto dressed in priestess robes crossed his mind and a feral smirk graced his lips. Of course, it was just a passing thought but now he had the ability to make it true. Looking back at the temple, Kurama mused, "It's been far too long since you've had a disciple, Inari,"

In the meantime, Kurama placed up a barrier over the lot. Preventing everyone from entering his temporary home. Kurama's plan was slowly forming in his head. The New Gods dared to add his host to their games then he would make it difficult for them to enjoy the scenes. His fists automatically tightened. He had spoken to his future self and they had both come to the same conclusion - Tobirama Senju isn't the person she was meant to meet.

Kurama wasn't well versed on who the major shinobi figures were but Kyuubi insisted it was meant to be Tobirama's older brother, Hashirama, that the blonde was meant to meet. Kurama couldn't be sure on the matter. All that he focused on was protecting her. She was already attached to her friend. If he forced her to stay away Naruto would, no doubt, rebel or resent him from keeping her away from her first friend. "Stupid child," He cursed her, grabbing a broom from the fragile shed and opted to clean the front of the temple. He had nothing better to do other than sleep. "Stupid foolish child. How dare they…" He hissed, her bright smile flashing through his head. Not once did she fear him. The blonde child was merely curious about him in the beginning and was now sickly fond of him. It disgusted him.

"How dare they choose her…" He swept furiously, cursing the New Gods in his head. Kurama planned to teach her how to detach herself from situations. It was the only way to protect the light inside of her. There was no way a bright child like her would last into adult years. "I swear I'll make them pay for choosing her. Naruto will shatter the heavens," Looking to the skies, he smirked as it roared with lightning. "I swear she will shatter the skies." Kurama stepped out of the way of a lightning bolt and chuckled. A weak move to frighten him. It had been centuries since he last felt fear about them.

"Excuse me,"

Kurama looked up, "_ahh they've arrived,"_ He looked at the duo curiously. To Kurama, it was like looking at day and night. "What do you want?" He growled, returning to his sweeping as the brothers couldn't advance any further.

"I apologise for disturbing you but you wouldn't happen to know about a chakra disturbance that happened around here," Hashirama cupped his hands to his mouth and called out. "Are you the owner of this temple?"

Kurama felt his neck vein pop, "Owner?" He tried his best to control his grip but the handle shattered in his hands. "Nobody owns Inari-sama's temple, fool!" He barked. He loathed humans. They were annoying and asked too many questions. Stomping over to the duo, Kurama pointed at the long-haired man rudely. "Who the hell are you? Don't you know it's rude to start a conversation with a stranger without introducing yourself! Huh, who the heck are you, girl?!"

"G-girl?" Hashirama gasped, falling to his knees in shock. "Girl?"

Tobirama sighed as the red-haired man sneered, "I apologise for my brother's behaviour. This is Hashirama Senju and I am Tobirama Senju. As per agreement with the major civilian villages, our clan has agreed to protect them. This includes investigating unknown anomalies. Do you have any information regarding the chakra burst that happened approximately 47 minutes ago, sir?"

Kurama blinked. "_This weed mustn't be Naruto's friend. No, there must be a mistake,"_ The tense red eyes that stared back at him, unwavering and firm, made Kurama curious. Moving his gaze to the sulking man, Kurama didn't see why Kyuubi had high praises for this baby. In all honesty, Kurama could see Naruto being friends with this idiot more than the statue. "It's Ramon and that would be my mistake. I was sent from the Land of Darkness to maintain this temple and I activated a seal."

"The Land of Darkness?" Tobirama had never heard of the place.

Kurama nodded, finding that conversing with Tobirama was easier than looking at the idiot's face. "An island just east of the Land of Water. It's a miserable place. You wouldn't want to go there,"

"And yet your mission is in a war-ridden country," Tobirama rebutted and made the red-haired man bark out in laughter.

"Anything is better than that place. Truly a miserable island. Ahhh except for the capital. It's oddly sunny there but don't let the sun fool you. That village is just as vile as the weather," Kurama waved his hand dismissively, "Excuse me, I have work to do."

Tobirama watched as the man left. What Ramon said struck him. "Brother, let us go,"

"Tobi~" Hashirama whined, tugging on his brother's sleeve, "I don't look like a girl, do I?"

"A very pretty girl," Tobirama replied dryly, causing Hashirama to fall into despair. He gripped onto the back of Hashirama's shirt and dragged the man away. "_The land of Darkness,"_ he thought. "_Don't be foolish. Your hopes will only be crushed again," _Tobirama scolded himself. It was a large blow that Naruto wasn't from the Uzumaki clan but it made sense. She was talented in seals and the warmth of her chakra reminded him of that clan. However, he recalled a faint part of her chakra that felt erratic. It was like an underlying current ready to sweep you away. "_Perhaps she shares Uzumaki blood and doesn't know about it."_

More questions appeared in Tobirama's mind and it only served to give him a headache. He was nowhere near close to figuring out what was going on and with war at its peak, he didn't have time to gather his thoughts. "How annoying," He smirked. Although it frustrated him, it was a challenge he hadn't given up on.

"I'm annoying!" Hashirama cried out. Sobbing uncontrollably when he was thrown over Tobirama's shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "How humiliating~"

"Bear with it, brother."

**XXXX**

"Narumi,"

Sitting in the hospital bed, staring out the window quietly, Naruto slowly turned her head to acknowledge the woman sitting in the chair. Only one person called her by that name, deeming her birth name too masculine for her liking. "Madame Diana," Naruto greeted neutrally, nodding her head politely. The woman was half-covered in the shadows but her stunning features were still illuminated. Her taut white bun made her cheekbones look higher than they should be with her painted red lips and hard slanted eyes. No matter how elegant the kimono she wore, Diana's presence was more eloquent.

"This reminds me of our first meeting. Wouldn't you agree, Narumi?" Although Diana's voice was gentle, there was a sharp edge to her tone. "Pathetic young thing you were. I recall that overprotective bird hovering over you all the time. It's a shame it bit the hand that fed them,"

Naruto flinched at her words. She could never forget her first meeting with the Madame of Konoha's top whorehouse. Sandaime might've been her saviour but Madame was her guide to survival. "Indeed,"

Flashback:

"_Don't touch her!" Itachi hissed, his Sharingan flaring to life as he stood protectively over his student. "Don't come anywhere near her!" _

"_You don't scare me, boy," Diana stood proudly at the door to the room. She refused to back down and entered the room without a care. "Let me see her," She ordered, yet the young Uchiha refused to back down as his fingers gripped his tanto dangerously. Diana glared at him, "Do you honestly believe that you're in a position to protect her, boy? Step aside,"_

"_Don't," Itachi whispered as the woman got closer. He knew of her. He had heard the rumours about her. Yet despite the rumours, the woman was still an enigma. A complete mystery that not even Danzo would cross her path. "You have no right to be here,"_

"_Oh?" Diana arched her brow prettily. "Then tell me, Uchiha, how do you intend to protect this child? Your clan will oppose you and you hold no power to protect the child's heart and mind. You may be able to guide her to protect her body, but what else can you give her?" Diana tilted her head as a devious smile crossed her painted lips, "Absolutely nothing."_

"_I'm her family," Itachi proclaimed boldly, making the woman's smile drop. "She doesn't need your help,"_

"_Wait," A small voice called out._

_Itachi looked over his shoulder to see his little student awake and put away his tanto. He knelt beside her and held her hand gently as he explained, "Everything's alright Naruto."_

"_No it's not," Naruto shook her head as Itachi's face fell. Her peerless gaze locked with the stranger in her room. "Will you help me? To be stronger?"_

_Diana frowned. Taking a good look at the child for the first time. She was wrapped up in bandages and the strong stench of disinfectant came from her. "Define stronger, child," She ignored Itachi's glare._

_Naruto dug her fingers into the linen that her knuckles went white. "I'm not an idiot. It doesn't matter how much I train, I will always be weak. I will always be alone," She ignored Itachi's linger gaze yet he didn't say anything to rebuttal her words either. The blonde child tried to ignore the tears that gathered in her eyes as she recalled the harsh words thrown at her mere hours ago. "It will never stop, will it?" Naruto wasn't sure who she was talking to._

"_Don't speak in riddles, child." Diana dismissed, "You are just a child. Speak like it," _

"_...I hate them," The tears dropped onto her knuckles, "I hate them so much. I want to cave their heads in and make them suffer just as they've made me suffer. I want to destroy everything they love and make them feel what I feel!" Her voice grew louder and louder with each breath._

"_Naruto…" Itachi murmured sadly. She always put on a brave face around him and the Sandaime that both of them found it difficult to get her to be vulnerable around them._

"_I want to see them burn!" Naruto lifted her gaze. Her fiery blue eyes filled with tears stared heatedly at the unknown woman. "I want to be the one who strikes the match and turn them into ash! I hate them so much! Why is it me? Why do that to me?! What did I ever do to them?! Why am I the one who has to walk away with a smile?! I want to crush them all and make them pay for what they've done to me! I did nothing wrong!"_

_Diana approached the bed slowly. She looked down at the child filled with hatred. The blonde girl was far too young to be able to maintain her composure for long and if she hadn't interfered, Diana knew the girl would explode. "I will teach you how to destroy your enemies. Once you've knocked them down they will never be able to stand back up or oppose you ever again,"_

_Itachi stiffened._

_Diana continued, "They were wrong to underestimate you. They were wrong to underestimate anyone. You will address me as Madame Diana and I will be the one who will guide you down the path of destruction. Should you accept, I will be waiting for you at the Imperial Garden House at 0700 hours tomorrow." She briefly glanced at the Uchiha, "Without your guard dog." Turning on her heels, Diana left the room and prayed deep in her heart that her granddaughter would come to her. If Naruto was anything like her son, the burning rage in her heart would need to be trained immediately before she caused a massacre._

"_You mustn't go," Itachi said as soon as the outsider left._

"_I'm going," Naruto said stubbornly, "And I won't ever forgive you if you trick me into not going,"_

_Itachi frowned. The burning anger was still in her eyes that he sighed and pushed her back down onto the bed. "Get some rest. Once you wake and still wish to go, then I won't stop you. However, should I find that anything is wrong I will keep you away from that woman. Is this clear?"_

_Naruto didn't listen to Itachi and rolled onto her side. Her mind focused on getting her revenge against those bastards that cut her up. They would pay for what they did to her and Naruto swore she would do whatever it takes to cut them down. Even if it meant being as cold and ruthless as the old woman with the heartless blue eyes._

Flashback end:

"What did you do?" Diana folded her arms. Watching as the young girl's features hardened before she reluctantly took off her shirt. The older woman held her tongue as unfamiliar seals appeared on her body before they disappeared. "I believe I have told you about action and consequences. What do you hope to achieve by showing me that?"

Naruto didn't put her shirt back on. Leaving her top half exposed. "I want to protect him," She said firmly, "I'll do whatever it takes to keep him safe. Damn the consequences,"

Diana felt her unwavering heart tremble as the image of her son overlapped with the young Naruto. The steely resolve in their eyes was parallel. When it came to that look there was no changing their minds.

"_If I was asked to burn the world so Kushina would continue to smile I would do it in a heartbeat," Minato's face was firm, staring his mother in the eyes as he refused to back down. "Consequences be damned,"_

"There's no stopping you," Diana replied softly. She knew of her granddaughter's affliction. She knew everything and more about her own blood yet she hid like a coward and left her blood alone. "Your mask has cracks, Narumi, fix them before I do it for you," Diana stood up from her chair and was prepared to leave when Naruto called out to her.

"I'm not the only one with cracks,"

Diana looked over her shoulder and saw Naruto's hard look. Suppressing a shudder, Naruto reminded Diana of her son. Leaving the hospital room, Diana kept to the shadows and made her way to the Hokage tower. It was already past midnight, the Hokage was always alone at this time. Entering his office, Diana didn't wait to be acknowledged and demanded, "What happened to her?"

Hiruzen only sighed as he was forced to face the woman whose blood created powerful and scary shinobi that hid behind a friendly smile. "You already know the answer. It's the same as what happened to Minato,"

Diana's glare intensified, "No,"

"No?"

"I don't care what sort of man the Nidaime Hokage was but it will not be him she sacrifices her wellbeing for. She will not be bound to a dead man," She hissed.

Hiruzen clenched his fists. How dare she speak of his teacher in such a manner? "You will not interfere, Diana."

"It's too late for me to interfere," Diana's voice grew colder by the second, "You will claim responsibility for what happens to her and when that times come, I will rebuild her,"

"Rebuild her to mirror you," Hiruzen spat out, "Naruto will never be like you,"

Diana laughed bitterly, "She will be worse than me, I assure you and it will all because of that stupid mask you made her wear. If Minato was still walking the earth without Kushina, he would be as merciless as I am."

"You don't know her,"

"Perhaps not," Diana turned on her heels. She only visited him to make him feel miserable and weigh on his conscience. "But I assure you, once a Namikaze loses the person they love it spells disaster for the rest of the world. There is only so much training I can give her to control her anger."

**Tobirama:**

As soon as Tobirama got home, he parted ways with his brother and holed himself up in his study. He had already ordered one of his aides to bring him all of the information they had on the Eastern Continent and whatever lay past the Water County. Unfurling the map, Tobirama frowned at the content. The map only went as far as the Water Country and no more. "How annoying," He muttered, pushing the map aside he searched through other documents and found very little. "The Land of Darkness…"

"Tobi?" Hashirama entered the room. Worry etched on his face as his brother scribbled furiously in his notebook. "I hope you're not making one of your ridiculous jutsu again,"

"You're the one with ridiculous Jutsu," Tobirama looked up from his brief work. He sighed seeing the concern in his brother's eyes. "It is nothing to be concerned about,"

"I will always be concerned about you," Hashirama took their conversation as permission to enter the office. The older brother looked over the material gathered and tilted his head, "Are you confirming the priest's words?"

"It's more out of curiosity, brother," Tobirama admitted. He thought for a while before letting his brother know, "I'm looking for someone,"

"Ahh," Hashirama kept quiet. He had already heard from Mito a few years ago. It had taken him a lot of patience to wait for his brother to open up to him, however, Hashirama had to wait for Tobirama to come to him in his own time. If he pushed his little brother, Tobirama would only close up. "And you believe this person to be in the Land of Darkness,"

Tobirama frowned, "I don't know. The world is a big place,"

"Indeed it is," Hashirama sat down. He liked to brag to anyone who would listen that he knew how to read Tobirama best. "Is this person important to you?" He saw his brother's frown deepen - Tobirama was lost in thought.

Tobirama took some time to find the right words, "The clan is important, however, I need to protect them,"

"Need?" Hashirama arched a brow.

Tobirama stiffened, he knew that tone. "I want to protect them, brother,"

When Tobirama picked up his stationery, Hashirama knew that their conversation was over. Standing up, Hashirama left some words for Tobirama to think on, "When everything has settled, let's speak again,"

_When the war is over you may look for them._

Tobirama held his breath as his eyes widened. Once the door closed behind Hashirama, Tobirama let out a large sigh. Pushing the material aside, Tobirama slowed his working pace down. His brother had given him permission. "For now, the main issue," He frowned and pulled out his notes on how to approach Emi and her delusions. Tobirama could only groan and rubbed his forehead. "This is stupid,"

Getting out of his chair, Tobirama stretched his back and looked out the window. The moon was full and bright. It reminded him of her. Of their conversations at the cliff face. The growing woman that had no concern for appearances. The growing woman that had heavy eyes. Kind eyes yet they held a lot of anger. The moon reminded him of her in many ways. It would be easy to compare her to the sun, but Tobirama saw Naruto as the moon. Mysterious and unattainable. Just out of distance yet you couldn't help but admire it. "I want to see you," He sighed heavily. He sounded clingy.

Tobirama's muscles stiffened when he felt a subtle change in the room and looked around carefully. His eyes widened briefly as the reflection in the mirror changed. Approaching the mirror slowly, he saw a bare and sterile room. Though what grabbed his attention the most was the lonely looking woman sitting on the bed. Tobirama wasn't sure what she was looking at but her eyes held the same pain and longing he knew she tried to hide each time they met.

Reaching out, Tobirama bit the inside of his cheek when his fingers touched the cool surface of the mirror. She hadn't noticed him yet. He wasn't sure if she could see him. Parting his lips, Tobirama called out to her, "Naruto," He said softly and saw her stiffen as her gaze swept the room. Tobirama felt his heart stop when her eyes landed on him. They were a darker shade than what he was used to. Something was terribly wrong. "Are you okay?"

Tobirama saw the light return to her eyes briefly before she slipped out of bed. It was then that Tobirama noticed her wearing baggy white clothing. She was in the hospital. He waited quietly as she approached him and laid her hand over his. Tobirama was still unable to feel anything and kept his eyes on her.

"No," Naruto whispered, looking up at the stoic man. "Not for a long time," Naruto heard him hum in response and touched her forehead to the mirror. "I'm so glad you're here, Tobi,"

Tobirama heard her sniffing and looked down. Naruto was trembling and he noticed the tears falling onto the floor. Getting down on one knee, Tobirama could see her face clearly. "Will you let me in?"

"I'm so sick of it all,"

Tobirama frowned, he had no context to her words and looked around her room to find answers. All he could deduce was that she was in a private room. "I can't help you if you don't tell much, Naruto,"

"I don't want help," she shook her head.

"Then I'll listen," Tobirama sat down and gestured for the blonde to do the same. He waited when she grabbed the blanket of the bed before joining him on the ground.

Neither questioned how they were able to talk to each other. Right now, both of them needed each other.

"I'm so tired of being mothered all the time," Naruto sighed, wiping up her tears. "As soon as I make a mistake, there's always someone rushing in to fix it. How am I supposed to learn if they keep taking over and fixing everything for me?"

"I'm assuming this is your sensei," Tobirama saw her nod slightly, "And perhaps your grandfather," Naruto looked away guiltily, "Then your frustration is understandable but that isn't the only issue on your mind,"

Naruto looked at Tobirama in surprise. "How did you know?"

"I just know," He narrowed his gaze when she looked like she was about to lie to him, "The one person I don't want lying to me is you, Naruto. Don't start now,"

"Tch," Naruto clicked her tongue but Tobirama noticed the light return to her eyes. "I'm irritated...all the time." She gave him the side-eye when he looked unconvinced, "The village believes I'm an idiot."

"I'm well aware of the mask you wear," Tobirama folded his arms. She didn't need to tell him. He knew the second she created one. Tobirama was only going to mention it if she used it in front of him...not that she ever did. "Of course someone with an ego as big as yours wouldn't last long. Your mask has cracks,"

"Excuse me?" Naruto hissed, "I do not have a big ego,"

"I beg to differ," Tobirama scoffed, "You're a showoff and extremely flashy. It shows in how you deliver your techniques. You aren't suited to wear a mask. Especially with that untapped anger of yours."

"What are you talking about?" Naruto was starting to get upset and angry, "Then what are all those years worth! I worked hard to maintain this side of me!"

"And now it's making you hollow," Tobirama's voice warned her to back down. "How do you plan to deal with all the emotions you've locked away and buried? What will you do about the darkness you allowed to fester within you?" He saw her frown and think over his words. "I'm not your sensei. I'm not your grandfather. I will never be gentle with you when it comes to your wellbeing. Is that a problem?"

"...no," Naruto slouched, licking her dried lips before asking. "What can I do?"

"You ended up in your situation due to the mask you chose: the village idiot." Tobirama saw her flinch but didn't hold back. Whoever gave her the idea to be the village idiot was stupid considering the village already hated her. She should've been a wallflower but it was too late to change. "No matter how close your companions are or who knows the true you, there will always be a part of them that will recognise you as the village idiot and treat you as such. Secondly, your personalities clash. You're tactical and devious–I'm not praising you, idiot!" He bellowed when she rubbed that back of her head foolishly. Tobirama sighed, "You have two options. Continuing wearing your mask until it shatters and you lose control. Or, you step into the light,"

Naruto twisted her face at the advice. "You want me to reveal the real me? I don't know about you but the real me is a bitch," She saw Tobirama's face twist at her language. "And boring. I mean, I only like to study and fight. Well...it's more like fighting first and then studying."

"Are you calling me boring?" They shared the same hobbies.

Naruto was flabbergasted until she realised where Tobirama was. She had only seen his office twice and during those times it was crammed with books and paper. No matter how clustered his office got, it still remained neat compared to her mess at home. Naruto looked up at him, her lip curling into a teasing smile, "Just a little,"

"I'm offended," Tobirama saw her eyes lighten. She wasn't there yet. It would still take a while and it was up to her whether or not to take his advice.

"So," Naruto piped up, feeling better than she was scolded than being smothered. "What brought you here? It's been a while since you've appeared when I'm awake," The blonde bit the inside of her cheek when she spotted his red ears. His face was calm and collected but his ears gave him away.

"I wanted to see you," He admitted, being blinded by her brilliant smile.

"I wanted to see you too," Naruto replied excitedly. "I was looking at the sun, y'know! It reminds me of you!"

Tobirama tilted his head, "The sun?" This was a first. He couldn't find a single parallel between the sun and himself.

"Yup," Naruto nodded her head, "Whenever the sun rises you feel reassured that there will always be another day. You're kinda like that,"

"I see," Tobirama would never let her know that he was pleased with her words. It would only make her head fat. "I thought you were going to say that I'm a warm man,"

Naruto looked at him weirdly.

Tobirama glared at her, "I'm offended,"

Naruto giggled, "Good,"

Tobirama glared harder, "Then for offending me, teach me something I don't know," His ears rang when she laughed. Her brightened eyes were filled with warmth as they looked at him. They weren't filled with hidden intentions or desire. She was just happy to be with him.

The couple spent the time teaching each other ways to survive. Although he would never admit it to her, Tobirama was impressed with how Naruto explained and taught how to insult someone without truly insulting them and swaying the audience over to their side. It was a dangerous dance with words. However, he did voice his displeasure with how she learnt to behave this way from the owner of a whorehouse. Tobirama wasn't able to get rid of his prejudice of the night women but he was open to their line of work.

"It's not something you understand by watching them," Naruto tilted her head, "You have to talk to them, y'know, gain their trust."

"Why would I need their trust?" Tobirama scoffed.

"Whores know many secrets,"

Tobirama shuffled uncomfortably. It wasn't due to her crude language this time. It was the way she said it. The teasing smile didn't match the mysterious look she had in her eyes.

"Why not spend the night with them?"

"I will lay with no other woman than my wife," Tobirama was offended by her words.

Naruto rolled her eyes, "That's not what I meant. Disguise yourself as one of them and experience it yourself." She saw his conflicting look, "You don't have to sleep with them. Some prostitutes use layered genjutsu,"

"Layered genjutsu?" This was the first time Tobirama had heard of the concept.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah it's been used for centuries and a well kept secret amongst whores,"

"Then why are you telling me?" Tobirama still felt uncomfortable with the conversation.

"Well, I can't use genjutsu without a medium. I suck at it regardless but I was taught how." Naruto lifted a finger, "Scent. In a prostitutes room, they're likely to have incense burning or some sort of light scent in the room." She lifted another finger, "Sounds. They use their vocal cords to lull the target." And a third finger rose, "Touch. A light touch is all a woman needs to make the man feel immeasurable pleasure."

"Naruto," Tobirama's voice warned.

"I will be a kunoichi soon," Naruto understood his unvoiced concerns, "It will be expected of me."

Tobirama clenched his fists. He knew the missions kunoichi went on. He knew the dangers that followed them. "I do not like it,"

"We're shinobi," Naruto's tone changed. It sounded older and wiser, "We understand sacrifice more than anybody else." It was inevitable. One day she would get a seduction mission - whether she chose to use her body or not was up to the parameters of the mission.

"Tch," Tobirama clicked his tongue, "I understand." He packed up his notebook he used to jot down notes. It would undoubtedly come in handy in the future. "About the genjutsu," He muttered, "Is it possible to use it for pain instead of...pleasure?" He hesitated.

"Pain?"

Tobirama nodded, "By the sounds of it, you enhance your target's sensitivity. The women must have a threshold they do not cross over to ensure the target only feels pleasure. I'm sure with a few minor adjustments, the genjutsu can be used as a means of torture and interrogation,"

Naruto furrowed her brows, "You're one dangerous man, Tobi,"

"I don't want to hear that from someone who can drain a man of their blood with a seal," Tobirama scoffed as she smiled at him innocently. "Tell me, you're fairly beautiful–" He didn't comment on her flushed appearance, "–there must be followers despite your village deposition."

Naruto's face felt hot. She knew what he was asking of her and replied, "I pretend they don't exist or I bore them with topics I know they can't keep up with. I was told the second you give them an ounce of attention they will latch onto it viciously."

"Interesting," He rubbed his chin in thought, "I plan on discrediting Emi either soon or when the war ends. This depends on her attitude," Tobirama saw her disapproving gaze. "We're in the heat of war, Naruto. Even the unsavoury shinobi are needed at times,"

"Can't you make yourself disappear or something?" Naruto suggested, "You're already fast. Why not be faster?"

"What on earth are you talking about?"

Naruto shrugged, "Give me a few years and I bet I can outrun you. I could probably catch you too….make you fall into a pitfall or something. Traps and all," She waved her hand around like she didn't threaten to hurt him.

"You won't ever be able to outrun me,"

Naruto's smile stretched so far that her cheeks hurt, "Well, you've only recently been able to keep up with me and I'm still young. I'll outrun you in no time, y'know," She folded her arms and boasted, "Soon the hedgehog will be run over by the gallant and swift - Naruto Uzumaki!"

Tobirama's eyes widened as Naruto lost herself in laughter. She hadn't realised what she had just done. "_Uzumaki!"_ His mind screamed. Quickly schooling his face, Tobirama didn't want her to figure out that she slipped up and followed along in their conversation. "Please, you're just making a fool out of yourself,"

"It's true though~" Naruto teased, "I'm fast and I'll be faster than you,"

"Is that a bet?" He narrowed his gaze at her. Feeling egged on by her words and attitude. It was childish of him but the way she grinned at him made Tobirama want to join in on her fun.

"_If_," She stressed cheekily, "You win, I'll teach you my prized fuinjutsu,"

With a snap of her fingers, Tobirama gasped as a seal appeared in her room and everything but Naruto was being forced into the ground. The metal legs of the bed groaned and snapped as the bedside table was crushed in its effort to kiss the ground. With another snap of the fingers, the weight lifted and left the room destroyed. Tobirama recognised what she had done immediately, "Gravity?"

Naruto nodded, "It's a kinjutsu. If you're not careful with the technique, you can crush yourself or you can destroy an entire village,"

"What made you wager such a jutsu?!" Tobirama yelled at her, yet her proud smile never left her lips.

"Because it's incomplete." She admitted with a casual shrug of her shoulders, "And I think you can finish it," Tobirama stayed silent. He wasn't sure what to make of her words. "So, what do I get when I win?"

Tobirama sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Not that you will ever win, but I'm confident in my smithing abilities. I will teach you how to forge your own weapons,"

Naruto perked up at the offer. It sounded boring but the Sandaime had mentioned that the Nidaime Hokage had created the legendary Raijin no ken (Sword of the Thunder God). It was so powerful that even a newbie welding the blade could be a formidable opponent. "I'll win for sure,"

Tobirama rolled his eyes. His mind was already racing in ways to win the bet. "I highly doubt it." He noticed that her carefree attitude slipped away and was replaced with guilt. "What is it?"

"The sun," Naruto pointed behind Tobirama, "I've kept you up all night. I'm so sorry,"

"Don't be," Tobirama unfolded his arms as natural light entered his office. "I enjoy our time together. Don't make me regret it,"

Naruto frowned at him, "You could say it nicely, y'know."

"Would you prefer it that way?" he arched a brow, teasing her as she puffed out her cheeks.

"...no, I like the bastard Tobi just the way he is,"

"I would be offended if you didn't,"

"You get offended by seeing my legs,"

"..."

Naruto laughed at his silence. She could see him fading away and smiled sadly, "I am sorry for keeping you up though,"

"Please," Tobirama smirked, "Your motormouth would keep anybody up," She was too slow to get in the last word as she disappeared from his sight. Her shocked and angry face made him chuckle. It was rather cute.

Getting up, Tobirama stretched his limbs before taking a seat at his desk and got started on their bet. "She'll pay for calling me a hedgehog,"

**XXXX**

(A/N: I have changed Naruto's age in Tobirama's diary entry [C1] to 18 years old. The war arc won't start until she's 18 because it felt wrong to have such a large age gap between Tobirama and Naruto during the arc. Also, the diary entry has been updated a bit.)


	6. Chapter 6

**A love in time 6**

"What. The. Fuck!" Naruto screamed, throwing her hands into the air as she watched her new teammates disappear. She turned to Kakashi with fire in her eyes and seethed, "What the fuck! What the fuuuuck, Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi sighed and rubbed her head gently, "It happens, kid."

"B-b-but…" She pointed in the direction of Sasuke and Sakura's retreating figures.

"I did warn you that you'd be ahead of them," Kakashi chuckled at her shocked face. "You've trained longer than those two combined and…" He lifted his finger to make a point, "If you paid attention to your classmates you would've known you'd be teamed up with Sasuke and Sakura,"

"B-but…"

"No more buts," He scolded lightly, "I believe it's time for you to take interest in people instead of your training," He clicked his tongue when she made a strained face, "Naruto, they're your teammates and will be your teammates for a long time. Hokage-sama made this team as front liners. I hope you'll be able to guide them as well,"

"You better not be shoving off your teaching duties to me. I'll tell Gai-sensei!" She threatened. Kakashi chuckled uneasily. "But why them? I could've made a great heavy hitter team with Kiba and Choji,"

"It's all about balance and speciality, in the end, Naruto. Konoha also needs tracking and capture and interrogation units." Kakashi pointed out as she pouted. "It won't be that bad," He tried cheering her up as they left the training grounds.

"Yes, it will be!" Naruto huffed as she followed after Kakashi. "Sakura hates my guts because she thinks I'm a love rival." The blonde stuck out her tongue in disgust. "And Sasuke has to be the cockiest person I've ever met. Worse than Tsume-sama."

"Oh?" Kakashi arched a brow, "That's a bold statement,"

"You know it's true,"

"Maybe, but you'll never hear it from me."

Naruto sighed, "This is going to be irritating,"

Kakashi glanced down at his companion. The frown on her face eerily reminded him of whenever Minato had a hard decision to make. It had been gradual but Kakashi noticed the changes in his student. Her episode had scared him but now she didn't look so anxious. "Are you angry?" He asked curiously.

"Just a little bit," Naruto scoffed, "That fucking idiot better watch his back,"

"Maa~" Kakashi kept his silence. He didn't want to be in her crosshairs when she was ready to attack. The resemblance to Minato was uncanny that it almost frightened Kakashi. It got him thinking if she would be as cruel as her father. Reaching out, Kakashi ruffled her hair and pushed away the frown on her face. When she looked up at him curiously, Kakashi smiled at her and said, "Don't get too lost, okay. I won't be able to find you,"

Naruto beamed up to Kakashi before glomping his waist. He floundered uncomfortably at the contact but Naruto only squeezed him harder. "Awww, know that's not the aloof and disinterested Kakashi-sensei that I know. Are you, perhaps, falling in love with me?"

Kakashi sent a fist into her head and left her crying on the floor. "Please, only 2D girls are worthy of my attention," He flaunted bravely.

Rubbing her head, Naruto looked up at her teacher in disgust. "You're such a weirdo, Kashi-baka,"

"What are you talking about? I'm a lover of literature," He lifted his book into the air and began praising it, "Only such refined words are allowed to grace my intelligent eyes–"

Naruto was quick to sucker-punch his gut and save Kakashi's reputation. There were a few eyes on them but they shrugged it off quickly, used to their odd behaviour. "I don't want to be referred to as the student of a major pervert," Gripping the back of his collar, Naruto dragged him towards the Hokage tower. Her perverted teacher needed to make his report and Naruto refused to let him turn up late. He had promised her ramen after the exam.

Whenever Naruto heard Kakashi's perverse giggles it only served to irritate her more. Her sensei seemed to become a major pervert overnight and it annoyed Naruto. By the time she reached the Hokage's office, Naruto was at the end of her rope and kicked the door off its hinges. Her outburst caused those in the Hokage's office to go quiet as she stood there silently fuming.

"Naruto?" Hiruzen looked around a shinobi and stopped the furious child. Spotting Kakashi lying behind her, Hiruzen nodded wisely, "Ahh it must've been hard on you, my child."

"Don't sass me, old man," Naruto hissed and tossed Kakashi into the room. She gritted her teeth when he flipped onto his feet nonchalant. Taking a deep breath, Naruto was quick to plaster on a polite smile.

The occupants in the room shivered at the sight. The smile didn't look polite at all. It looked more menacing than anything else.

"My apologies, I was quite rude with my words before." Naruto placed a hand over her chest as she spoke softly, "I'll make sure to correct my behaviour in the future,"

Hiruzen kept his smile despite the ominous atmosphere. "That would be welcoming, Naruto. Kakashi will be dismissed in half an hour. Please feel free to wait in the shinobi lounge in the meantime,"

"I will take up your offer, Hokage-sama," Naruto bowed before leaving the office.

Hiruzen moved his gaze to the unaffected Hatake. "What did you do to her?"

"I was the utmost gentleman," Kakashi replied sincerely, causing his colleagues to groan. Kakashi's ego flourished at the noise.

With Naruto:

Throwing herself on the nearest couch, Naruto let out a heavy sigh. Her head hurt. "Fuck," She hissed, the image of Sasuke stayed in her mind. The burning hatred he held. It overlapped the kind smile of Itachi she recalled. It was a disturbing sight to see. Naruto knew that Sasuke's path could've been her own but she wasn't attached to the Uchiha clan like Sasuke. Naruto only bonded with Itachi and frankly, didn't care about the rest of the clan. She felt her body ache as her past memories surfaced. A bloodied Itachi standing outside her door. His odd Sharingan flaring as he stared at her listlessly. The drenched tanto - thick with blood.

Naruto should despise him but her gut refused to listen. Curling upon herself, the blonde took deep breaths as she tried to remain calm. She wasn't mad at Kakashi. No, that was just an excuse. She was mad at the Uchiha brothers. She was mad at herself.

"_**Come to me,"**_

Naruto listened and entered her mindscape. She found herself sitting in the sewer system and looked at the Kyuubi.

"**What do you want to do?"**

"Why are you asking?" Naruto replied with a question.

Kyuubi growled at her, "**You don't have a choice in your life. The Gods have forsaken you. What do you want to do?"** He asked again, narrowing his gaze when she tried to brush off his comments.

"I want to protect him,"

Kyuubi frowned, he had heard those words before. "**Protect who? The Nidaime Hokage or the blood killer?"**

Naruto released a ferocious growl. Her blue eyes tinted red just briefly but the Kyuubi noticed it all. "Do _not_ speak as if you know him!"

"**The blood killer then,"** Kyuubi laid down on his crossed paws. Her killing intent didn't scare him, "**What is your plan? Hunt him down and force him to tell you the truth?"** He said mockingly, making her hesitate. "**You're smarter than a brute. Use your head."**

"I...he…" Naruto frowned, looking down at her clenched fists pathetically. "I can't hunt him down,"

"**Oh?"** Kyuubi was curious. Her normal confidence was gone and what was left was a confused child. "**Do explain and entertain me,"**

Naruto threw a quick glare at the Kyuubi and explained, "Itachi-sensei is not just any shinobi. He's a genius. An ANBU captain at age 13. Highly respected and sought after as a shinobi and a man. Even now, the top hunter-nins are unable to track him or hunt him down. How am I meant to compare to experts?"

Kyuubi watched her quietly before saying, "**You'll figure something out,"**

"What? It's been 5 years and I've come up with nothing!" Naruto pointed out, "Every plan I make to capture him is useless. Every seal I make is nothing. I can't go up against a genius like Itachi-sensei. He's an entirely different monster,"

"**You're a monster too,"** Kyuubi rebutted, taking in Naruto's offended face. "**You'll find a way,"**

"How?" Naruto was flabbergasted by Kyuubi.

"**Figure it out yourself,"**

"You always do this!" Naruto was annoyed at the beast. "At least give some advice," When the Kyuubi turned around and showed his tails to her, Naruto gasped. "Damn it! Kurama is better than you! At least he helps me out properly and gives great advice!" Naruto puffed out her cheeks when he ignored her. "You fucking suck," Naruto left her mindscape and opened her eyes. The light hurt her eyes. Rolling off the couch, Naruto decided to go home. There was no point in waiting for Kakashi, he would only make her wait.

Entering her apartment, Naruto moved into her bedroom and ignored the mess of scattered papers. Waddling through the mess, the blonde picked up an unsuspecting and dull-looking scroll and opened it up. Her eyes scanned the paper with a hard look. It would be a dangerous seal if she ever managed to crack it.

All she needed was a drop of blood to be able to track whoever, whenever she wanted to. It was a dangerous tool that brought shivers to her soul whenever she worked on it. "No," She muttered and rolled the scroll back up. This was a seal that would never see the light. It was encrypted and Naruto strongly believed that nobody would be able to read it or complete it. Tossing the scroll with the rest of her mess, Naruto threw herself on her bed and found herself deep in thought. Something was wrong. Something was off but she wasn't sure what it was. "This suck,"

**Tobirama:**

"This sucks," Tobirama groaned, hugging his ribs tightly as he looked to the deep wound on his leg. The rain was harsh and refused to let up. The black mucus oozing out of his leg didn't look good. "Poison," He sighed, looking around at the fallen bodies around him. It was only a matter of time before his body gave up on him and forced him to sleep. He didn't have enough chakra to signal his brother his location. It was up to luck. "Heh, I sure am lucky," Tobirama muttered, forcing his gaze up and peered through the rain. "You look older, Naruto,"

Naruto frowned down at the beaten man. She was already in a bad mood and now she appeared before her friend. It had been almost six months since she last saw him. "You're dying," She whispered, licking her dried lips as he only nodded. Naruto clenched her fists tightly, taking a deep breath before kneeling before Tobirama. "How long has this poison been in your system?"

Tobirama mostly focused on keeping his breathing even. "T-twenty minutes...n-no, twenty t-three minutes,"

"You need to get moving," Naruto said calmly as she brought her hands over his wound. Her hands were shaking as she tried channelling chakra into his wound. It wasn't enough. Her chakra in this condition wasn't enough to heal the wound. "T-there should be a cave a couple of miles southwest from here." Naruto forced more chakra into her hands, barely being able to close up the wound and exhausted much of her chakra. She looked into his ruby gaze. His eyes were glazed over but he was still conscious, "Tobi, I need you to move. I'll find the herbs to neutralise the poison,"

"Y-you can't…" Tobirama huffed, his chest hurt making it difficult to breathe.

"My chakra still works. I'll find a way to get them. Please, move, Tobi," She begged him when she saw his gaze grow heavy. "Move!" She yelled, snapping his eyes open. Although she wanted nothing more to hunt down the herbs, she needed to stay by his side and keep him awake. Otherwise, the rain would get to him and he would undoubtedly die. "You need to move, Tobi."

"Urgh," Tobirama grunted, rolling onto his stomach and started crawling.

"No," Naruto stayed by his side, "You need to stand," she whispered sadly, "You won't make it there by crawling. Please, get up,"

"Fuck you," He hissed at the blonde, gripping onto the tree to get onto his legs. If he wasn't close to delirium, Tobirama would've never sworn at her. "I'm going to...m-make you regret….t-talking to me like that,"

"But I'm not being mean," Naruto rubbed her temples as she slowly guided the injured man.

"Mean?" Tobirama snorted, his line of sight was getting smaller. He could barely see in front of him as his vision waned. "Y-you're a bitch,"

Naruto growled at the jab, "I'm trying to keep you alive, you fucking bastard!" Stiffing, Naruto realised she was getting mad at a man that wasn't in his right mind. "Sorry," Seeing him trip, Naruto yelled out his name and rushed to his side when he groaned, "You need to keep moving," Her voice was wavering, desperate for him to move.

"Heh," Tobirama smirked, though it only looked like a pained grin to Naruto. "I'm n-not going to g-give up so easily,"

Naruto tried to control her face. Although his words were one thing, his actions were another story. Looking to the skies, it was still raining and thick in grey clouds. Although she couldn't feel the rain or the biting wind, she knew her friend felt every scathing touch. She followed him diligently and hesitated before reaching out. Placing a hand through his body, she saw his body react to her chakra. To Naruto, Tobirama's chakra felt colder than usual. It was like her chakra pathways were slowly being frozen over. Gritting her teeth, Naruto kept her hand inside of Tobirama, even with every stumble he took and the chilling cold that took over her body - Naruto refused to remove her hand.

"Warm? Heh, I must b-be dying," Tobirama chuckled bitterly, wondering why he was walking. He should be resting. It was an honour, wasn't it? To die on the battlefield. A shinobi's greatest honour. "Ahh, an honour," His mind was betraying him. He could just see it. Naruto crying over his cold body, begging for him to wake up and stay with her. "You're s-such a cruel woman," He muttered. She wanted him to stay with her when she refused all his efforts to be with him - what a hypocrite. Yet he was warm. As if touched by an angel. It was warm and familiar. "My lilac,"

Naruto looked at Tobirama strangely. He was babbling nonsense every so often as if he forgot she was beside him. "He probably has forgotten," She shook her head sadly, "We're almost there, Tobi," Naruto continued to encourage him.

"Tch, I'll make you pay…."

Naruto shivered at the threatening tone and laughed awkwardly. She spotted the cave up ahead and sighed in relief. It had taken them almost an hour to get here but she was glad he somehow managed to make it. Guiding him inside and past the thick ivy, the cave instantly went dark. With a snap of her fingers, a light orb appeared on her finger. Naruto tossed the light orb unto the ceiling and slowly talked Tobirama into taking off his wet clothing and to lay at the end of the cave.

"Naked? Heh, naked I am," Tobirama mumbled as he slowly fumbled to take his armour and clothing off.

Naruto sighed at the delirious man and used her chakra to cut off a thick bundle of ivy. "How do I carry this to him?" She tilted her head and tried manipulating the wind beneath the bundle. It barely lifted off the ground and looked unstable but Naruto used that opportunity to fling the bundle towards Tobirama. "Shit," She hissed when Tobirama was knocked back by the ivy and scrambled over to him. "Sorry sorry sorry sorry!" She cried out and looked over his frame. "Huh?" Tobirama was out cold. "Damn it,"

Kyuubi appeared beside Naruto and looked at the unconscious man. "**This is unfortunate,"**

"You think?" Naruto said sarcastically, doing her best to manipulate her chakra to make a bed of ivy for Tobirama. Sweat gathered on her forehead as she tried levitating Tobirama so she could wiggle the bed underneath him.

"**Do you have no shame?"**

Naruto barely noticed Tobirama in just his underwear, "Please, I've seen worse in the hospital." She rolled her eyes and went to gather some more ivy and wood to make a fire. "I need to get him warm and then I'm off to find the herbs. Stay here and watch over him,"

Kyuubi was offended, "**I will not,"**

"Kurama please!" Naruto shouted at the fox, the desperation in her voice was thick. Her blue eyes held tears yet she refused to let them fall. "Please," She pleaded.

Kyuubi scrunched up his nose at the tone. "**I will go. Stay with the brat,"** He ignored her trembling thanks as he left the cave.

Naruto reigned in her tears as she hurriedly prepared the fire. "Please work," she muttered, snapping her trembling fingers together to create a spark. Naruto whimpered in relief when the spark caught onto the ivy and found her next problem. She couldn't breathe onto the spark to create fire. "Damn it," Working hard, Naruto focused on creating a spark in one hand and a small gust with her other. Juggling two chakra natures made her nervous. She had never attempted it before but she had to hurry.

"Ahh!"

Naruto flinched when Tobirama groaned and lost her spark. "Please please please work." She pleaded with her stiff fingers. Her head snapped up when she heard movement, sighing in relief when Kyuubi walked into the cave with the needed herbs hovering before him.

Kyuubi sighed at her pitiful face. Approaching the fire pit, Kyuubi blew gently and started up a small fire. He flung the herbs her way, concealing his surprise when she caught it with wind manipulation though she was a bit clumsy with her actions. "**Get it done,"** He grumbled and snuggled up by the fire. He couldn't feel the heat but the light gave a sense of security and Kyuubi didn't want to leave his host alone in her condition. He was worried that she would fall apart right then and there. "**Wake me when you're done. We need to talk about what happened today,"**

Naruto felt nervous at Kyuubi's words. "Y-yeah," elevating the herb in her hands, Naruto focused her attention on the herb and carefully directed her chakra to cut up the herb until it was just paste. She glanced at Tobirama, he was pale and looked feverish but she saw the opportunity when his lips barely parted. Scrambling to his side, Naruto slowly lowered the herb towards his mouth. Working silently to direct the paste into his mouth, "Swallow it please," She muttered, sliding the rest of the herb past his cracked lips. Naruto prayed she made it in time.

Reaching out, Naruto's hand moved through Tobirama's body. His chakra still felt incredibly uncomfortable to her. "_What should I do?" _she thought desperately, watching her friend shiver as she sat helplessly by his side. It was one of her nightmares coming to life. Seeing him injured and unable to do anything to aid him. Naruto knew deep in her heart he would survive. He was to be the Nidaime Hokage who shaped the village to be prosperous. Yet her heart was still anxious. In all her years to train so hard, Naruto only felt useless before Tobirama. A feeling she hated with all her being. He was someone she couldn't protect. A precious person she couldn't protect.

With a hesitant mind, Naruto brought her other hand to Tobirama and noticed the minute change. His shivering was subsiding, though just barely. Naruto had heard from Gai about the time he and Kakashi had to huddle together naked to keep warm during a blizzard. She wondered if it would work the same way but with her chakra. "You always said my chakra was warm," She said sadly to the unconscious man and laid beside him. Half of her body sank into him, making his feverish shivers settle. However, Naruto gritted her teeth as the seething cold bit deep into her astral body.

"**Honestly,"** Kyuubi got up, seeing his host shiver in pain. Approaching the two, Kyuubi moved behind Naruto to keep her up and shared his warmth with her by draping his tails over her frame. "**Explain yourself,"**

Naruto frowned, "I lost control of my emotions for a second,"

"**Yelling at your teammates for five minutes isn't a second."** Kyuubi snorted, her shouting had woken him from his nap.

Sighing, Naruto explained, "We're in the middle of our second exam and they hid important information from me. That could've gotten us killed and it almost did. They're so fucking annoying."

"**I agree,"** Kyuubi reluctantly agreed. Her teammates were the worst. They constantly belittled his host and refused all offers of help from her. It was a real shame.

"I killed the sound shinobi and they had the audacity to get mad at me," Naruto chuckled bitterly, "They're lucky I didn't forfeit that match and stop their chances of becoming chunin." She felt Kyuubi hum in response. He would've supported her decision if she chose to back out then. "That bastard had no hesitation to use Orochimaru's mark. I'm going to seal it off completely when he's sleeping."

Kyuubi perked up, "**Why not get rid of the seal?"**

"No way, remember what happened when I got rid of Anko's seal? It was an absolute disaster trying to kill _that_ Orochimaru." Naruto wrinkled her nose, recalling the destruction the Hokage made in his efforts to kill the part of Orochimaru that was once sealed within Anko. Many were injured and some had died. "It's too dangerous to do it when we have other villages visiting. It'd be a political disaster for Konoha,"

"**A pity. I would've enjoyed the show,"** Kyuubi chuckled at his morbid comment. Naruto only sighed heavily. "**You know there's another way,"**

Naruto growled, "You know I suck at Katon jutsu,"

Kyuubi growled back at her. "**My ninshu isn't your water-downed ninjutsu. I wasted my efforts teaching you ninshu,"**

Naruto knew Kyuubi was sulking but she wasn't in the mood to apologise to him. Ninshu was a concept she wasn't familiar with. She was raised to use chakra in combative ways. Chakra wasn't something people understood. No matter how many times he pounded it into her head, Naruto still didn't understand it.

Seeing Tobirama shuffled out the corner of her eyes, Naruto brought her attention to him. There was sweat gathered on his brow with a slight grimace on his lips. The tight lines on his face and sharp features mesmerised Naruto. He was someone unattainable to her. She wasn't sure how long she was looking at him when his eyes fluttered open, startling her when his ruby gaze locked onto hers.

"N-Na…"

"Shh," Naruto eased, "You're safe. Get some rest. I'll watch over you,"

Tobirama ignored her advice. His bleary gaze barely making out the features on her face, "W-what's it like?" Naruto frowned, not understanding his question. "The Land o-of Darkness,"

Naruto was perplexed. She didn't know anything about the Land of Darkness.

"I know y-you live there," Tobirama mumbled, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath. "Terrible place,"

"What? I don't live there," Naruto denied.

"Liar," He whispered, enjoying the sensation of her warm chakra in his body. Promptly lulling him back into a deep sleep.

Kyuubi kept quiet. He knew why the boy thought Naruto would be from there. It was a lie on his part and the boy took it another way. "_**What an idiot,"**_ he scoffed, closing his eyes and decided to take a nap too.

Naruto squeezed her eyes tightly. She was tired. "This is probably the longest time I've been here," She said to no one in particular but it held weight. No matter how much time she spent in the past, only the time she slept would pass in her time. Naruto remembered being in the past for 10 hours yet when she returned to her time, only 20 minutes had passed. It was so weird.

Getting into a comfortable position between Kyuubi and Tobirama, Naruto felt exhausted and closed her eyes. Joining her companions into the dream world.

**XXXX**

Kyuubi found her sitting at the entrance of the cave. It was a new day and they were still in the past. Getting up slowly, Kyuubi approached his host and sat beside her as the soft rain fell outside. "**What are you thinking about?"**

Naruto watched as the earth soaked up as much water as it could. "Why am I here, Kurama? Why do I keep coming back here?"

Kyuubi sighed. He wondered how long it would take for her to ask. She had always brushed it off, despite spending hours researching into her phenomenon. "**Events like this happen very rarely. Perhaps once in a millennium. The new gods come across a path they don't like and intervene in harsh ways."**

"You've mentioned new gods a few times…" Naruto huddled her knees close to her body. "...what happened to the old gods?"

Kyuubi released a low growl, "**They were tricked and consequently banished to the Neverlands. A land that only knows darkness, forever unmoving and frozen in time. It is a place that even demons fear,"**

Naruto glanced over to her companion. The rage burned brightly in his eyes. "Do you get tired of being angry?" she looked back outside when his growl deepened, "Because I do. Once I become chunin, I'm leaving the team. It was Shikamaru's suggestion and it's only now that I've made up my mind. Seeing Tobirama dying hit me deep. It was as if all the anger and bitterness I held was nothing more than a bug. What mattered the most was making sure the future was safe...and it took me to see my friend dying to realise that."

Kyuubi's heart trembled. She rarely spoke beyond her age but when she did, it always hit deep. That she was no longer the helpless child that would cling to anyone that would give her attention. That, Naruto Uzumaki, was growing up.

"I don't know why the new gods have cursed me but I know where I belong," Naruto looked over her shoulder to Tobirama's sleeping form. The images of her comrades overlapped him. Sandaime Hokage. Itachi-sensei. Shikamaru. Choji. Kakashi-sensei. Surprisingly, Ino and Hinata. It was a small group with a questionable member, but Naruto wanted to stand beside them in the future. Her comrades disappeared one by one until she saw only Tobirama. Although she couldn't stand beside him, Naruto saw her place behind him. Watching him grow into the formidable Nidaime Hokage that shaped the shinobi system.

"**When did you start growing up?"** Kyuubi spied her slight smile. It wasn't forced. Her smile was just existing. Ready to take on whatever was thrown at her.

"I haven't grown up yet, Kurama. I'll still need your help to destroy those bastards who think my life is worth toying with,"

Kyuubi quickly retracted his statement about her smile. Her smile was terrifying.

"I'm going to make those who wronged me regret ever crossing my path," Naruto already had a list. She already had a plan.

Kyuubi grew weary of the blonde. Nobody ever mentioned it out loud and Kyuubi wasn't going to break that streak ever, but Naruto was scarily similar to her father. A kind and strong figure to the public but an absolute demon behind closed doors. It was the scariest type of leader. Hearing the unconscious man stir, Kyuubi didn't hesitate to return to the seal. He would talk to his host once she had calmed down.

Looking over her shoulder, Naruto saw Tobirama's eyes flutter open and got up. "I wasn't expecting you to be awake so soon," Approaching him slowly, Naruto saw his eyes swarm with emotions. His eyes softened in relief as she sat beside him with tears fresh in her eyes, "I was so scared," She admitted, the fear rising to the surface now that he was stable.

"I'm sorry," Tobirama's throat was dry. The instant relief he felt when she was the first person he saw when he woke was a new feeling. She looked worn down. He felt her chakra instantly warm his body when she leaned into his body, sobbing quietly as he laid there. "I'm so sorry,"

"I want to kill them," Naruto seethed, lifted her head and stared directly at Tobirama. Naruto didn't know her eyes were slowly turning crimson red, "I'll kill them all,"

Tobirama held his shock, "_A kekkei genkai?"_ "I've already finished them," Sitting up slowly, Tobirama clutched his wounded leg and noticed his state of undress. Gasping, he covered his chest with his arms and glared at the blonde. Yet she only looked at him determinedly. Ready to kill his enemies. "_She's already killed,"_ "The enemy is dead, Naruto. I'm alive and safe thanks to you." A small unsatisfied growl left her lips, "Stand down," He commanded, before clutching over in pain and coughing up blood.

"Tobi!" Naruto yelled frantically, doing her best to check his condition. "The poison is still in your system. It's a miracle you're even awake! I'll go and find more herbs,"

"N-Naruto," Tobirama called out to her, wheezing as he forced himself to find her. She was already at the entrance ready to leave. "I'll never forgive you if you kill in my name," She was shocked by his answer. Although she didn't like it, Tobirama knew she wouldn't betray his word.

Once she left the shelter, Tobirama groaned as he laid down and observed the cave. What struck him the most was the foliage he was laying on and the dying embers nearby. "How did she do this? Chakra manipulation?"

More mysteries kept surrounding his first friend that it was beginning to get suspicious. He couldn't fathom the idea of her lying to him because she never did. Perhaps it was his mind betraying him. Naruto would never betray him. Closing his eyes, Tobirama tried to focus on his breathing. Barely registering the warmth that flooded his body.

Naruto looked at Tobirama worriedly. She had returned from collecting herbs to see him going through another feverish bout. "Please hang in there. Kurama," She called to her companion, "Can you find his brother?"

"**The wood child?"** Kurama appeared beside his host. He didn't pay mind to the unwell man but to the determined blonde. "**The man can't see you. What are you going to do to get his attention? Act like a poltergeist!"**

"Yes,"

Kurama was gobsmacked. Naruto was unpredictable as ever but Kurama could see the signs. His host was preventing her return to her time. Her body flickered every now and then but ultimately, she was able to keep her spiritual form in the past. "**You won't have much time."** Kurama sighed, "**He's five miles east of here. You'll recognise him as soon as you see him,"**

Naruto nodded, feeding Tobirama the herbs before she rushed out of the cave. She didn't hear Kurama follow her or feel him return to the seal. "Let's go," Naruto muttered to herself, channelling wind chakra to her feet and propelled forward. She was fighting against time and her own consciousness to make it in time. She couldn't stop Tobirama from getting an infection and becoming septic and Naruto prided herself on never going back on her word. Even though he was sick, Naruto refused to grovel to the past Kurama to allow her to use her solid form. It was a difficult decision, one she thought about repeatedly, but Naruto trusted Kurama's words and kept them close despite the pain she went through watching Tobirama struggle.

Naruto felt it before she saw him. The overwhelming chakra presence of the man that would become the First Hokage of Konohagakure. Breaking through the treeline, Naruto sucked in her breath when kind brown eyes locked onto hers as she landed before him. Naruto's eyes widened as he stared right at her. "Y-you can see me?"

Hashirama took in the blonde before him and tilted his head. "I was expecting a human. Not a ghost,"

It was Naruto's turn to tilt her head, "Huh?"

**XXXX**

Hi everyone, sorry it's been a while. Although the country is in lockdown (NZ) I'm one of the essential workers that have to be on the frontline. I've been swamped with various afternoon and night shifts that I had to write this chapter bit by bit. I hope everyone is safe and is self-isolating. It's going to be a difficult time once the pandemic has subsided and I hope that everyone has a roof over their heads and a warm meal. I will try my best to keep up with this story. Please be safe and be kind during this time.


	7. Chapter 7

**A love in time 7**

"Now don't get me wrong," Hashirama spoke up after a while, his eyes focused on the phantom in front of him. "I can see you...I guess," he scratched his cheek nervously, speaking to the ghost for the first time made his nerves frazzle, "I just can't hear you but you're the one that's hanging around my brother, right? I've seen you linger around him and I'm not sure how but there were traces of….whatever you are at Tobirama's last battle. I just hope you're not a ghost." Hashirama hid his frantic worry as the haze approached him. He had seen it many times beside his younger brother and believed him to be haunted. Yet the feeling the ghost gave off was friendly...as if it wanted to be companions with Tobirama and his brother never chased the being away.

It was his first time seeing her face first and Hashirama had to admit that she was breathtaking like a forest sprite. He wondered why such a ghost would linger around his gloomy brother. In fact, there was something about her that seemed familiar to him. "_Is it her face? Or perhaps I'm just making things up,"_

Naruto frowned as she stood before the future Shodai Hokage. He was looking at her right in the eyes. "This is weird," She admitted and reached out to him.

Hashirama flinched as the blonde ghost touched him and felt a chilling sensation pass through his body. Sweat started to gather under his hiate yet the girl looked kindly up at him. It confused Hashirama. Her gaze seemed to admire him but he could be wrong. He gave Tobirama his space and didn't interfere in his personal life yet Hashirama couldn't help but ask, "Are you from the Land of Darkness?"

"What? Where the hell is the Land of Darkness?" Naruto shook her head when Hashirama pointed to his ears. "Stop messing around, Naruto," She scolded herself when she felt her spirit being pulled and gestured for Hashirama to follow her. Yet part of herself couldn't stop glancing at one of her idols. He was no Yondaime but he was a close second.

"So you know where he is?" Hashirama asked excitedly and trailed behind the ghost. "Ne ne ghost girl," With his previous nervousness gone, he chuckled when the admiration on the girl's face turned to annoyance. Her emotions changed quickly on her face. "Are you dead?"

Naruto felt her face flush red and exploded, "I'm not a ghost!" She huffed, her mental capacity was at her limit and before returning here her team barely survive the Forest of Death if she hadn't knocked them both out and carried them to the finish line. Although it was mean of her she was thankful that just enough people passed that they hadn't need to do a preliminary round. Kami must be watching over her struggles and opted to give her a peaceful day...for now. "I'm Naruto! Na Ru To!" She sounded out to the deaf man before storming ahead.

"Aahhh Naruto?" Hashirama rolled her name off his tongue. It was a rather unique name he had never heard about before. He was quick to adjust to the situation and easily caught up with the blonde. Observing her from behind, Hashirama could see that she was visibly tired. The prominent bags under her eyes couldn't be hidden in her phantom state and she looked rather pale and exhausted. "_She's probably at the end of her rope,"_

Picking up his pace, Hashirama attempted to get some information out of Naruto before she disappeared. He had seen her three times before and previously she always looked bright and excited. "_It must be an unknown technique,"_ "Once this war ends, Tobirama has plans to go look for you," He could see the confusion in her face when she looked up at him. She was wary of his quick adjustment to her and that he brought up Tobirama. "He believes you're in the Land of Darkness. It'll probably be the first place he visits after the war,"

Naruto sighed, she was getting sick of hearing about this foreign place. All she wanted to do right now, after spending the night worrying, was to sleep undisturbed.

Hashirama continued to observe her. Reading her facial expressions it was easy for him to hold a conversation this way. He was no way good at reading lips like his old friend. Just thinking about him now made him upset inside. "Perhaps it'll be a good vacation for him even though you're not there," He laughed loudly when she looked at him suspiciously. "Come on, even you must admit that he needs a break. Tobirama is too uptight," Her flushed giggle made his smile widen. "Tell me, Naruto, it may be my guess but I feel like you'll be someone unmovable in the future,"

"Are you calling me fat?" Naruto muttered bitterly and touched her chubby cheeks.

"No no no no! That's not what I meant!" Hashirama quickly explained once seeing his mistake. "What I meant to say is that it's not an easy task being in my brother's heart and staying there. It takes one heck of a lady to make that mountain move,"

Naruto was touched by the Shodai's words, placing a hand over her racing heart just as they reached the hiding place. Pointing to the cave entrance, Naruto, not once in all her years, gave Hashirama a deep and deserving bow.

Flustered, Hashirama tried to upright Naruto but his hands passed right through her causing his hands to go numb.

Although he was someone weird, Naruto enjoyed her company with the Shodai Hokage and seeing sides to him that were never mentioned in the history books. Looking at his awkward position, Naruto could see why the old man admired him so much. There was something familiar about him that stuck to her but she was too tired to figure it out on her own. Feeling Kurama return inside of her, Naruto waved goodbye to the Shodai and awoke in her dreary apartment. "What an odd man,"

"_**What took you so long?"**_ Kurama grumbled as he settled down to get from rest.

"Nothing," Naruto mumbled back and got out of bed. The sun was high in the sky making her sigh, "It's probably around midday now," All the training grounds would be filled by now. Taking her time to get dressed, Naruto left her apartment and wandered around Konoha trying to pass time by.

"Have you got a minute?"

Naruto paused and looked behind her. "I was wondering when you would speak up," It was Shikamaru and Choji. "Where's Ino?"

"Where else," Shikamaru scoffed and walked beside Naruto as Choji took up the other side of her. "You look terrible. I guess your team has you down"

"Unfortunately," Naruto was still bitter about it. Her teammates weren't ready and Kakashi knew it too. It was a miracle that they passed the 2nd chunin exams. "The council ran interference again and Kakashi-sensei is tied up with Sasuke's training. The old man has gotten too complacent these years,"

"Naruto," Choji warned her with a small voice.

Sighing, Naruto ran her fingers through her hair. "I know I know. He's not the only one to blame." They walked through the crowded streets when Naruto dropped her voice so only the two could hear her. "The shadow of Konoha has grown too big,"

"What can we do about it? We're just genin," Choji tossed his bag of chips into the nearby bin.

"And Choji and I are just clan heirs." Shikamaru pointed out yet his mind was already racing. Naruto always had this aura about her that made you want to follow her and him and Choji had been with her the longest so they knew her best. She was about to move.

"I know you hate it when I say this, Shika, but I have a bad feeling," Naruto felt her flesh rise and looked around the marketplace. There was nobody there but she knew there was someone watching her. The negative emotions she felt had almost doubled since the village had opened up for the chunin exams. "I don't know what's going to happen but we need to prepare something. Anything. Whatever the worst-case scenario is then we need to plan for it."

Shikmaru only hated it when Naruto went off her gut feeling because there was no logic behind it and it made it difficult to plan. What were they supposed to plan for when they currently had no reason to be suspicious? "Then it's obvious what the worst-case scenario would be," Naruto and Choji looked at Shikamaru causing the latter to stop and turn to them. "Think about it. There'll be foreign entities in Konoha and the Hokage can't put guards on everyone that comes into the village. It'll only cause distrust between us and tension is already high as it is between the 5 Great Nations."

"Choji," Naruto's voice grew serious. She was on the move, "Find out which Nation's currently have any negative affiliations with Konoha in the past 20 years,"

"Why 20 years?" Shikamaru asked he groaned when she just grinned at him. "Another hunch, right."

"I'm on it," Choji nodded, "Anything else, Naruto?"

"Stay away from the Suna shinobi," Naruto frowned, "There's a problematic one among them." Before turning away from them, she also looked at Shikamaru, "Also, keep your eyes on about Sasuke."

"One of our own?" Shikamaru was surprised. No matter how terrible the Uchiha was, Shikamaru was sure Naruto would never spy on one of their own.

"This time it's not a hunch. Something has changed about him. His chakra is…" Naruto wondered how she could word this. He was the precious brother of her traitorous teacher. A man that is still dear to her heart. "...dark,"

"Naru~"

"Ack!" Naruto was quick to steady herself as she was tackled from behind and looked at the head that rested comfortably on her shoulder. "Ino, you're late,"

"Mou~ I don't want to hear that from you," Rubbing her cheek against Naruto's, Ino reluctantly let go and noticed the heavy atmosphere between the group. "What'd I miss?"

"Naruto's hunch," Choji simply filled in. Shikamaru, Naruto and Choji didn't want to let Ino know about the change in Sasuke. As much as a good friend that she was, her heart still belonged to Sasuke.

Ino's cherry demeanour changed suddenly and stood beside Naruto. Although it wasn't needed, Ino took her hand and squeezed it gently, "What do you want me to do?"

Naruto wasn't sure when it started or even why, but she was thankful for this team for trusting her. "I need the names of all the participants of the chunin exams," After observing Tobirama for all these years, Naruto knew it was only natural to be wary of those that enter her home. "With all the merchants and nobles coming in it'll be too hard for us to keep track of them. Once you have the list go after the nobles next." Naruto pretended she didn't see the wicked smile on Ino's face.

"All this heavy talk is making me hungry," Choji hinted, glancing at Naruto keenly.

Laughing awkwardly, "I can do dinner?" She offered, not wanting to upset Choji but she honestly wasn't hungry right now.

"Yakiniku Q at 6," Shikamaru pointed at Naruto, knowing that she was prepared to flake on them again for dinner. "If you're not there I'll tell Kakashi-sensei about Daichi asking you out last week,"

"What the hell," Naruto hissed as her face flared up in embarrassment. She thought she had burned that memory from her mind. "You saw that,"

"We all did," Ino giggled and whispered in Naruto's ear, "You're a really beautiful lady, Naru-chan~"

"Ack!" Naruto pulled away from Ino and covered up her ear, "Leave me alone," She grumbled and waved the laughing team off. If Kakashi ever heard she got a confession the man would only crumble at her feet and beg her not to leave him. He was unexpectedly clingy for such and aloof man. Once team 10 left her sight, Naruto was quick to shunshin to the thick and heavy aura of murderous intent and slammed the perpetrator against the dark alley wall. "Why are you following me?" She held a kunai up to their neck and flared her Kyuubi eyes menacingly. Her glowing red eyes met hostile green eyes that made her growl louder. "Answer me!" She had seen him before. He also passed the 2nd round of the chunin exam. Even back there he was staring at her.

"You're just like me," His monotone voice whispered threateningly in the alleyway. His sand moved around the blonde, teasing her that he could easily kill her.

Naruto felt it before Kurama could even explain to her. "You…" Her eyes widened and lowered her kunai. She could feel the demonic chakra surrounding her and looked around. She was trapped in a sphere of sand with the unknown shinobi. Her eyes returned to the redhead and asked, "Who are you?"

"I am One," He muttered before sending his sand to attack the blonde.

**Tobirama:**

"Naruto!" Tobirama lurched forward and gasped desperately for breath. He looked around anxiously for her but all he saw was his bedroom. "No," he whispered, clutching his aching chest. Tobirama swore that he saw her being attacked by some dark figure. He screamed at her to not let her guard down yet she couldn't hear him. "Damn it. Damn it!" Tobirama grabbed his pillow and tossed it across the room. He didn't care that his body was protesting against his movements. All he could see was the terror in her eyes as she was consumed.

"Tobirama!" Hashirama rushed into the room and tried to push him back into the bed.

"Get off me! I need to go!" Tobirama was desperate, "I need to go! Let go of me this instant!"

Hashirama gasped when Tobirama's bandages started to bleed and called for his wife, "Mito! I need your help!"

"I'm already on it," Mito was quick to toss a paper seal on Tobirama's head causing him to fall into a deep sleep. "He's fighting it," She grimaced and placed her two fingers against the seal as Hashirama tried to lower him onto the bed.

"N-Naru...to…" Tobirama tried to fight it but it was a losing battle as he was promptly put to sleep.

"Naruto?" Mito asked as she quickly got to work on Tobirama's open wound.

"He must have been stressed about his previous mission," Hashirama opted to ignore Mito and helped her clean his wound back up. "He was on the verge of death. There'll be repercussions from that mission and it will affect him for a long time,"

Mito smiled gently, "You're such a worrywart, Dear. This is Tobirama we're talking about. If anyone can pull through then it'll be our cute little brother,"

"Cute? Ha~" Hashirama sighed at his wife's terrible joke. "You better go before I wake up."

Mito gently kissed Hashirama's cheek, "Call for me if it happens again," Patting his shoulder gently, Mito left the room and gestured for the servants in the house to avoid Tobirama's room in the meantime.

"Here we go," Hashirama tore the paper off Tobirama's head and watched as his brother quickly regained consciousness. "Careful," He warned his brother that he was about to bolt up. "Your body still needs to recover from the poison,"

"Where is she?" Tobirama muttered.

Hashirama frowned, "Tobirama, do you remember what happened on your mission?"

"Haa…" Tobirama shook his head. The feeling of danger leaving his body, "It must've been a dream." Feeling his brother's worried gaze, Tobirama recounted his mission, "We were ambushed on our way back to the village. The mission was a success. I should've known better than to let my guard down,"

Hashirama kept quiet. He was the one who had sent Tobirama on the long term mission. It would've exhausted anyone and Tobirama wasn't one for sympathy. "We're tracking the poison and so far, it's leading us towards the Wind Country,"

Tobirama frowned. "Why would they interfere in Fire Country?"

"There are unconfirmed rumours saying they're looking for powerful shinobi to breed with," Hashirama swallowed hard at the thought, "I recognised 2 kunoichi at the scene. They've made quite a name for themselves in Wind. Their target must've been you,"

Tobirama laughed bitterly. "How annoying. Rats from inside the village and outside. I can never get a break, can I?"

Hashirama sighed, "Why don't you try living outside the village for a while? Mother used to do it a lot when it was rather peaceful. I can ask Mito to set up a few seals so you can have a peace of mind,"

"...That will be pleasant," Tobirama's mind wandered back to Naruto. He glanced at Hashirama, his face filled with worry of an older brother. It was just the two of them left. He could understand why Hashirama was feeling tense. "How did you find me? My chakra was too unstable to track,"

Hashirama caressed Tobirama's thick hair. "I still have a few tricks up my sleeve, Tobirama. I have to keep you on your toes." Standing up, he said, "I'll let you get some rest. Don't move too quickly or you'll agitate your wounds,"

Tobirama waited until Hashirama, listening for his footsteps to move far enough before sliding out of bed. His legs felt weak but he was determined and left his room. Clutching his aching middle, Tobirama limped towards his office and locked the door behind him, "Ha~" He sighed as he forced his body before the mirror in the room. "Please work…" He muttered. The terror in Naruto's eyes was burned into his mind. "Even if she can't see or hear me, please, whoever is listening let me see her. I need to know that she's safe,"

Tobirama's eyes widened when the mirror distorted and saw Naruto. His pupils trembled seeing her covered in blood and dirt with a furious look in her eyes. He had never seen her so mad, even when he teased her too much.

"Fuck!" Naruto swore as she placed the unconscious boy down on the bed gently. Placing up privacy seals, Naruto took a deep breath in before screaming. "AaaaaahHHH fuck!" she fell to her knees with a distressed sniffle. Naruto wanted to hit something or for something to hit her. "Why?" Her voice trembled as if she were betrayed, "Why wasn't I told there were others like me?!"

Tobirama saw her look into a shadowy corner in surprise. He was surprised to see someone who looked similar to him yet there were clear differences.

"It's a secret between the Great Nations," Kakashi knelt beside Naruto slowly, "Not even Konoho know who or where the other Jinchuriki are,"

"Jinchuriki?" Naruto sighed sadly, "Is that what we are? How many are there? Tell me please, Kakashi-sensei," She was desperate as she clung to his uniform. Her hands trembled as she pleaded with him, "Please, I need to know,"

Kakashi swallowed hard, "There are nine jinchuriki and it means to be a human sacrifice." He glanced over to the sleeping boy, "Gaara of the Sand. Jinchuriki of the Ichibi,"

Naruto tensed up, "Gaara?" she looked to the boy, "His seal..." looking back up at Kakashi, she venomously spat out, "His seal was killing him. I...I had to fix it, Kakashi-sensei...I...I could've been like him. I had to save him," She felt herself being pulled into Kakashi's warm chest and buried herself deep into his arms. "I hate this. I hate feeling this way…" She sobbed desperately. Wishing that the warmth Kakashi provided her would never leave.

Kakashi quietly examined her body as she grieved and found her arms almost destroyed. "Naruto," He muttered sadly and began to apply first aid. Kakashi had seen Naruto carry the suna shinobi in her arms yet her arms were almost crushed. He could only imagine the pain she was in trying to get him to a safe place. Naruto probably knew unconsciously that Gaara wouldn't be safe on his own wherever they fought. "Get some rest,"

"I can't," She shook her head as Kakashi healed her. "I promised I would go to dinner with team 10,"

"Leave that to me," He soothed, lulling her into a deep sleep. "I'll take care of it."

"Wait!" Tobirama called out as the image slowly faded. "What happened?" He questioned, none of what he saw made sense. He had never heard of the term Jinchuuriki before but he had heard about the Ichibi. They were one of the nine Bijuu.

The more Tobirama thought about it the more he realised that there was more to Naruto that he didn't know. He knew her tells yet he didn't know what made her passionately angry. He knew her training style yet he didn't know that she would fight even after her body had been thoroughly abused. He knew enough about her but it wasn't enough.

Tobirama knew he was the one who set the line between them. The logical part of him knew he did it to protect themselves and the villages they're from. One day they could be enemies fighting on the opposite side of each other. It was the biggest reason why Tobirama didn't want to let her get too close to him but it was too late. Tobirama wanted to know everything about her to the point he was willing to track her across the country to make sure she was safe. He wanted Naruto to come to him when she was upset and to rely on him. Clenching his fists tightly, Tobirama recalled her crying into her sensei's embrace. He wanted to be a part of her life...but he wasn't sure how to.

**XXXX**

A/N: There might be mistakes in here about the chunin exams. Truth be told I forgot how far they were in the chunin exams in the previous chapter. Hopefully it still makes sense though and if not then I'll rewrite this chapter in the future


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